MEAT ATLAS Facts and fi gures about the animals we eat IMPRINT/IMPRESSUM

The MEAT ATLAS is jointly published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation, Berlin, Germany, and Friends of the Earth Europe, Brussels, Belgium

Executive editors: Christine Chemnitz, Heinrich Böll Foundation Stanka Becheva, Friends of the Earth Europe

Managing editor: Dietmar Bartz Art director: Ellen Stockmar

English editor: Paul Mundy Copy editor: Elisabeth Schmidt-Landenberger Proofreader: Maria Lanman Research editors: Bernd Cornely, Stefan Mahlke

Contributors: Michael Álvarez Kalverkamp, Wolfgang Bayer, Stanka Becheva, Reinhild Benning, Stephan Börnecke, Christine Chemnitz, Karen Hansen-Kuhn, Patrick Holden, Ursula Hudson, Annette Jensen, Evelyn Mathias, Heike Moldenhauer, Carlo Petrini, Tobias Reichert, Marcel Sebastian, Shefali Sharma, Ruth Shave, Ann Waters-Bayer, Kathy Jo Wetter, Sascha Zastiral

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This publication is written in International English. First Edition, January 2014

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Facts and figures about the animals we eat

2014 TABLE OF Contents

2 IMPRINT 22 wHY FaRMS KIll FISH: BIodIVERSITY loSS oN laNd 6 INTRodUCTIoN aNd IN waTER Overfertilization harms plants and 8 lESSoNS To lEaRN animals and damages ecosystems worldwide. Nitrates in groundwater can cause 10 THE RISE oF THE GloBal MaRKET cancer. In coastal waters, they can result in The developed world has fewer and fewer oxygen-starved “dead zones”. farmers, but they are keeping more and more animals. Instead of producing 24 a SPECIES-PooR PlaNET for the local market, they supply The genetic basis of livestock is getting ever distant supermarkets. This same shift is narrower. We are relying on a few, now transforming livestock specialized breeds of animals, such as the production in the developing world. black-and-white Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle that are raised in over 130 countries. A few 12 CoNCENTRaTIoN: ECoNoMIES high-yielding strains also dominate the oF SCalE BUT lESS dIVERSITY production of chickens, goats, pigs and sheep. Economic imperatives are the driving force behind the consolidation of the global 26 aNTIBIoTICS: BREEdING SUPERBUGS meat industry. This may mean more Industrial producers use large amounts efficient production, but it also concentrates of pharmaceuticals to prevent diseases from market power in the hands of just a few, spreading like wildfire among animals much to the detriment of smallholders. And on huge factory farms, and to promote faster it may be risky for consumers, too. growth. But this is dangerous: bacteria are developing resistance to drugs that are 14 MaKING PRodUCTS FRoM aNIMalS: vital to treat diseases in humans. THE SlaUGHTER INdUSTRY To get from steer to steak, the steer has to die. 28 wHEN THE TaNK IS RUNNING dRY Today, slaughtering is highly industrialized. The growth of the world’s livestock industry Abattoirs are production lines with semi- will worsen the overuse of rivers and skilled workers toiling in poor conditions. The lakes. It’s not that animals are particularly industry has moved out of cities, hidden from thirsty; but a lot of water is needed view. Animal-rights groups are questioning to grow the fodder they eat, and dung from the ethics of the slaughter industry. factory farms pollutes the groundwater with nitrates and antibiotic residues. 16 BRIGHT PINK IN THE Cold CaBINET It’s goodbye to the neighbourhood 30 THE GRaIN IN THE FEEd TRoUGH butcher and hello to supermarket chains. The Ruminants and people do not have to shift to Big Retail is now washing over compete over food. But producing more meat developing countries. The demands of the requires ever more grain to feed to animals rising middle classes are setting the agenda. as concentrates. If we cannot grow enough at home, we have to import it from abroad. 18 FREE TRadE VERSUS SaFE Food The Transatlantic Trade and Investment 32 THE EMERGENCE oF a laTIN Partnership agreement currently aMERICaN SoY EMPIRE being negotiated between the United States In Argentina, the world boom in soy prices and the European Union promises to has given rise to a new breed of farmers, boost trade and jobs. But it may also weaken along with a huge increase in tax revenues existing consumer-protection laws for the government. The structural on both sides of the Atlantic. changes in farming have led to serious social and ecological effects. 20 THE HIddEN CoSTS oF STEaK The price tag on a package of meat does not 34 THE ClIMaTE CoST oF CaTTlE reflect the true cost of producing the Livestock directly or indirectly produce nearly contents: the hidden costs to the environment one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas and the taxpayer are much higher. If emissions. But farmers and scientists say that these costs are included, livestock raising with the right type of management, livestock would probably make a net loss. do not have to be a burden on the climate.

4 MEAT ATLAS 36 RaNCHERS IN THE RaINFoREST 50 URBaN lIVESToCK KEEPING In Brazil’s Amazon region, the world’s For many, urban livestock is a second-largest herd of cattle meets the contradiction in terms. Isn’t livestock-raising world’s biggest rainforest. This is bad news a rural activity, and don’t cities ban for the forest. First come the loggers, livestock because of the smell, noise and then come the ranchers. pollution? Yet urban livestock are crucial for the livelihoods of many poor city 38 THE GlYPHoSaTE IN YoUR BURGER dwellers. And they provide nutritious If pesticides, herbicides or medicines leave food at lower prices than their country cousins. unwanted residues in meat, milk and eggs, we end up consuming them too. Gaps 52 TURNING SCRUB INTo PRoTEIN in research leave uncertainty about Much of the world’s livestock, and much of its what glyphosate – a weedkiller used when meat, milk and eggs, are raised by growing genetically modified soybeans – non-industrial producers. Many of them does to our bodies. Legal loopholes mean we manage their animals on land that is may be eating it without knowing it. unsuited for crops, optimizing the use of local resources. But the existence of 40 a PlETHoRa oF PoUlTRY: CHICKENS these producers is under increasing threat. TaKE THE lEad In developed countries, consumption 54 IN SEaRCH oF Good Food of chicken is surpassing that of beef, Concerned consumers in the rich world face and chicken production is now a dilemma. They want good-quality meat highly industrialized. Demand in Asia is that is produced in an environmentally rising fast, and people who refuse friendly, ethical manner. How best to ensure pork and beef are happy to eat chicken. this? Here we look at some alternatives.

42 wHERE KEEPING CHICKENS 56 VEGETaRIaNISM: MaNY RooTS, IS woMEN’S woRK MaNY SHooTS Many women in Africa and Asia are forced Only a small percentage of the population to be dependent on their husbands for big in the industrialized world describe decisions. A few hens, chicks and eggs can themselves as vegetarians or vegans. Such build their confidence and self-reliance. lifestyles are more common in parts Their contribution to the meat supply is often of the world where religions play a major underestimated. role. In most faiths, followers are expected to abstain from meat in one way 44 IMPoRTEd CHICKEN wINGS dESTRoY or another. wEST aFRICaN BUSINESSES European poultry firms are not permitted 58 wHaT To do aNd How To do IT: to turn slaughter by-products into animal INdIVIdUalS aNd GRoUPS 26 topics feed. So they export them to developing Given all the problems with livestock countries and sell them cheap. Broiler farms production and meat consumption, and 80 graphics in Ghana and Benin have gone bankrupt. is there anything that normal people can on how we produce do? Yes: individuals can make and consume 46 dISQUIET IN THE dEVEloPEd woRld choices about their consumption patterns, meat Demand for meat in the developed world and groups can push for change. has peaked, and is beginning to decline slowly. Consumers’ worries about food safety 60 a GREENER PolICY FoR EURoPE are reinforced by scandals in the The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) industry. The industry is trying to improve has for decades supported, and distorted, its image with marketing ploys, but farm production. It has evolved from consumers are confused and the product is supporting large-scale production to taking not necessarily any better. the environment increasingly into account. But problems remain. A greener 48 HalF a BIllIoN NEw MIddlE- CAP could promote socially and ecologically ClaSS CoNSUMERS FRoM RIo To sound livestock production. SHaNGHaI Brazil, Russia, India, China and South 62 aUTHoRS aNd SoURCES Africa – the BRICS – are five big developing FoR daTa aNd GRaPHICS countries that are setting out from different starting points. They may not 64 RESoURCES end up with the food consumption patterns of the industrialized West. 66 aBoUT US

MEAT ATLAS 5 INTRTI ODUC ON

ood is very personal. It is not just a need. Food One in every seven people in the world does often embodies certain feelings: familiarity, not have adequate access to food. We are a long F relaxation, routine, or even stress. We eat in way from realizing the internationally recognized different types of situations and have our own, right to quantitatively and qualitatively sufficient very personal preferences. food. On the contrary, almost a billion people in At the same time, however, we are more and the world go hungry, largely because the middle more alienated from what is on our plates, on the classes’ craving for meat creates large-scale, inten- table and in our hands. Do you sometimes wonder sive livestock and food industries. where the steak, sausage or burger you are eating In many countries, consumers are fed up with comes from? Personal satisfaction reflects ethical being deluded by the agribusiness. Instead of us- decisions, and private concerns can be very po- ing public money to subsidize factory farms – as litical in nature. Each of us ought to decide what in the United States and European Union – con- we want to eat. But responsible consumption is sumers want reasonable policies that promote something that an increasing number of people ecologically, socially and ethically sound livestock demand. Then again, they need information on production. As a result, a central concern of the which to base their decisions. Heinrich Böll Foundation is to provide informa- How can normal consumers understand the tion about the effects of meat production and to global impact caused by their meat consumption? offer alternatives. How many people realize that our demand for meat is directly responsible for clearing the Ama- hile governments in the developed world zon rainforest? Who is aware of the consequences have to radically change course and strug- of industrial livestock production for poverty and W gle against the power of the agricultural hunger, displacement and migration, animal wel- lobby, developing countries can avoid repeating fare, or on climate change and biodiversity? the mistakes made elsewhere. If they know about the effects of intensive meat production, they can one of these concerns are visible on the plan for a future-oriented form of production that meat and sausage packages in the super- is socially, ethically and environmentally respon- N market. On the contrary, big agribusinesses sible. Instead of trying to export their failed model, try to play down the adverse effects of our high Europe and the United States should attempt to meat consumption. Advertising and packaging show that change is both necessary and possible. in developed countries convey an image of happy There are alternatives. Meat can be produced animals on happy farms. In reality, the suffering by keeping animals on pasture instead of in build- the animals endure, the ecological damage and ings, and by producing feed locally rather than the social impacts are swept under the carpet. shipping it thousands of kilometres. Manure does not have to burden nature and the health of the local population; it can be spread on the farmer’s own fields to enrich the soil. Our atlas invites you to take a trip around the world. It gives you insights into the global connec- There are alternatives tions made when we eat meat. Only informed, crit- ical consumers can make the right decisions and demand the political changes needed. In many countries, consumers are „ fed up with being deluded by the agribusiness. Instead of using public Barbara Unmüßig money to subsidize factory farms – as in President, Heinrich Böll Foundation the United States and European Union –, consumers want reasonable policies that promote ecologically, socially and ethically sound livestock production.

6 MEAT ATLAS Catalyzing the debate

The current industrialized and „ corporate-led system is doomed ood is a necessity, an art, an indulgence. to fail. We need a radical overhaul of But the global system for producing food is food and farming if we want to feed a broken. While people in some parts of the F growing world population without world do not have enough to eat, others suffer from obesity. Millions of tonnes of food are wasted destroying the planet. and thrown away, and perversely, crops are con- verted into biofuels to feed cars in Europe and the Americas. At the same time, the natural world upon and chemicals. Sustainable farming exists in which we all depend is being damaged and de- which farmers produce meat and dairy products stroyed. Ecological limits are being stretched as from numerous smaller farms, grow their own our demand for ever more resources takes prec- crops to feed their animals, and allow animals to edence over the need to protect biodiversity and graze freely. the Earth’s vital ecosystems. Forests and precious There are millions of local markets, and nu- habitats are being cleared to make way for vast merous small, innovative food companies. There monocultures to supply industrialized countries. is huge public support for sustainable farming: Farming is being intensified and wildlife wiped people are building an alternative global food sys- out at unprecedented rates. tem that is based on food sovereignty, and ensures everyone’s right to safe, nutritious, sustainable ver the past 50 years, the global food sys- and culturally appropriate food. tem has become heavily dependent on There is increasing international recognition O cheap resources, chemical sprays and that the current industrialized and corporate-led drugs. It is increasingly controlled by a handful of system is unsustainable and doomed to fail. We multinational corporations. The social impacts of need a radical overhaul of food and farming if we this system are devastating: small-scale farmers want to feed a growing world population without worldwide are driven off their land, both obesity destroying the planet. This system needs to have and food poverty are rife, and taxpayers and citi- food sovereignty at its heart. zens are increasingly footing the bill for one food crisis after another. In this corporate-controlled his publication sheds light on the impacts food system, profits always come before people of meat and dairy production, and aims to and planet. T catalyse the debate over the need for better, Nothing epitomizes what is wrong with our safer and more sustainable food and farming. We food and farming more than the livestock sector hope to inspire people to look at their own con- and the quest for cheap and plentiful meat. Many sumption, and politicians at all levels to take ac- of the world’s health pandemics in the past years tion to support those farmers, processors, retailers have stemmed from factory farms. Livestock rais- and networks who are working to achieve change. ing is one of the biggest greenhouse gas emitters, As a species, we need to be smarter. It is time to and is responsible for the use of huge amounts of acknowledge that the corporate-controlled food the world’s grain and water. Worldwide, livestock system is broken. It is time to curtail the power of are increasingly raised in cruel, cramped condi- those vested interests that want to keep it. Revolu- tions, where animals spend their short lives un- tionizing the way we produce and consume meat der artificial light, pumped full of antibiotics and is just the start. We need to create a world where growth hormones, until the day they are slaugh- we use natural resources in a more efficient way. tered. We need to ensure these resources are fairly dis- What is truly scandalous is that it doesn’t have tributed, and that everyone on this planet, both to be like this. We produce enough calories in the today and tomorrow, has access to safe, sufficient, world to feed everyone, even with an increasing sustainable and nutritious food. global population. We know how to farm with- out destroying the environment and without im- posing cruel conditions on the animals we breed, Magda Stoczkiewicz without corporate-owned and controlled seeds Director, Friends of the Earth Europe

MEAT ATLAS 7 Lessons to learn About Meat and THe World

Diet is not just a 1 private matter. Each meal has very real effects on the lives of people around the world, on the environment, biodiversity and the climate that are not taken into account when tucking into a piece of meat.

Water, forests, land use, climate and biodiversity: 2 The environment could easily be protected by eating less meat, produced in a different way.

The middle classes around 3 the world eat too much meat. Not only in America and Europe, but increasingly in China, India and other 4 emerging countries as well. High meat consumption leads to industrialized agriculture. A few international corporations benefit and further expand their market 5 power. Consumption is rising mainly because city dwellers are eating more meat. Population growth plays a minor role.

8 MEAT ATLAS Compared to other agricultural sectors, poultry production has the strongest international links, is most dominated by large producers, and has the highest growth rates. 7 Intensively produced meat small-scale producers, is not healthy – through the the poultry and the use of antibiotics and environment suffer. hormones, as well as the overuse of 6 agrochemicals in feed production.

Urban and small-scale rural livestock can make an important 8 c ontribUTIon to poverty reduction, gender equality 9 and a healthy diet – not only in developing countries. Eating meat does not have to damage the climate and the environment. On the contrary, the appropriate use of agricultural land by 10 animals may even have environmental benefits.

Alternatives exist. Many existing initiatives and certification 11 schemes show what a different type Change is possible. Some of meat production say that meat consumption patterns cannot be changed. But a whole might look like – one movement of people are now eating that respects environmental less meat, or no meat at all. To and health considerations them it is not a sacrifice; it is part provides appropriate conditions for animals. of healthy living and a modern lifestyle.

MEAT ATLAS 9 THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL MARKET

The developed world has fewer and fewer farmers, but they are keeping more and more animals. Instead of producing for the local market, they supply distant supermarkets. This same shift is now transforming livestock production in the developing world.

verall, the global demand for meat is grow- supermarket, in which town, and with what type ing, but at different rates in different re- of marketing its pork chops will be sold. O gions. In Europe and the United States, the But the production conditions are now very biggest meat producers in the 20th century, con- different from before. Industrial livestock pro- sumption is growing slowly, or is even stagnating. duction in Europe and the USA began when feed, On the other hand, the booming economies in energy and land were inexpensive. Nowadays, all Asia and elsewhere, will see around 80 percent of three are scarce and costs have gone up. As a re- the growth in the meat sector by 2022. The biggest sult, total meat production is growing less quickly growth will be in China and India because of huge than before. The market is growing only for pigs demand from their new middle classes. and poultry. Both species utilize feed well and can The pattern of production is following suit. be kept in a confined space. This means that they South and East Asia are undergoing the same rap- can be used to supply the insatiable demand for Pig and poultry id transformation that occurred in many indus- cheap meat. By 2022, almost half the additional trialized countries several decades ago. In the meat consumed will come from poultry. markets are 1960s in Europe and the USA, many animals Beef production, on the other hand, is scarcely growing; beef and were kept in small or medium-sized herds on growing. The USA remains the world’s largest beef sheep markets are grazing land. They were slaughtered and pro- producer, but the meat industry describes the sit- stagnating cessed on the farm or in an abattoir nearby. uation there as dramatic. For 2013, it expects a fall Meat and sausage were produced in the same lo- of 4-6 percent compared to 2012 and predicts the cality or region. Today, this mode of livestock pro- decline to continue in 2014. In other traditional duction has almost died out. In the USA, the num- producing regions including Brazil, Canada and ber of pig raisers fell by 70 percent between 1992 Europe, production is stagnating or falling. and 2009, while the pig population remained the The star of the day is India, thanks to its buffalo same. During the same period, the number of meat production, which nearly doubled between pigs sold by a farm rose from 945 to 8,400 a year. 2010 and 2013. India is forcing its way onto the And the slaughter weight of an animal has gone world market, where 25 percent of the beef is in up from 67 kilograms in the 1970s, to around 100 fact now buffalo meat from the subcontinent. Ac- kilograms today. cording to the US Department of Agriculture, In- In China, more than half the pigs are still pro- dia became the world’s biggest exporter of beef in duced by smallholders. This is changing fast. The 2012 – just ahead of Brazil. Buffaloes are inexpen- same technologies and capital investments that sive to keep. This makes their meat a dollar a kilo dominate livestock production in the developed cheaper than beef from cattle. In addition, the world are penetrating developing countries – and Indian government has invested heavily in abat- they are integrated in global value chains. When toirs. Faced with the high price of feed, Brazilian a piglet is born, its fate is already sealed: in which cattle-raisers are switching to growing soybeans.

Production Trade Trade Consumption

World, forecast 2013, World, forecast 2013, World, forecast 2013, World, per capita, million tonnes FAO million tonnes FAO percent FAO forecast 2013, kg per year FAO

13.8 0.9 9.9 68.1 8.6 7.2 33.3 114.2 308.2 30.2 100 43.1

106.4 13.3 90.1 79.3

beef, veal pigs other beef, veal pigs other domestic consumption developed world poultry sheep, goats poultry sheep, goats export developing

10 MEAT ATLAS Worldwide meat production

50.4 FAO 23.0 3.2 2.5 17.1 19.2 2.1 12.4 0.6 1.7 11.4 0.9 0.2 6.5 1.4 8.1 0.4 1.4 1.2 Russia 4.1 1.3 10.2 1.0 Ukraine 0.5 Canada 1.6 1.7 1.0 0.1 EU 0.2 0.3 0.5 Japan 13.1 0.4 0.3 0.7 USA 9.7 0.3 Turkey Iran 2.9 2.9 0.1 0.2 China Korea 0.8 0.5 0.3 3.3 Algeria 0.9 2.8 Saudi Arabia 1.8 0.7 0.1 1.7 India Egypt 1.5 0.7 1.5 0.8 1.2 0.2 0.5 0.1 0.1 0.5 Pakistan Malaysia Indonesia Mexico 0.2 0.1 0.2 0.2

Brazil 0.3 2.1 Bangladesh 1.0 0.9 1.5 0.3 2.6 0.2 0.6 0.6 0.5 beef, veal 0.5 South Africa Australia 1.8 pigs 0.2 Uruguay poultry 0.6 0.5 0.3 Million tonnes, average 2010-2012, sheep, goats Chile 0.2 0.1 data for 2012 are estimated

Argentina New Zealand

This presents an opportunity – albeit a small one – Whereas the developed world still dominates, for Indian buffalo-meat exporters. growth now relies on the developing countries. Africans are also starting to eat more meat, Nevertheless, only one-tenth of the world’s meat though both supply and demand are still not is traded internationally. This is because meat can growing as fast as in other parts of the world. Pro- only be exported if it meets and can document duction has risen in many countries in Africa, but the quality requirements of the importing coun- significantly only in populous South Africa, Egypt, tries. Importers and consumers fear diseases such Nigeria, Morocco and Ethiopia. A typical African as mad cow disease, foot-and-mouth disease and eats only 20 kilograms of meat a year – well below avian flu. The temporary interruption of the poul- the world average. Imports of cheap poultry meat try market in Southeast Asia and the complete have increased, though often at the expense of lo- collapse of British beef exports have shown how cal producers. international trade can dry up overnight.

Small animals in big groups – poultry take off A stable outlook – only if speculation is limited

Meat production, trends and forecast, in million tonnes Real meat prices, trends and forecast, in dollars per tonne

beef, veal pigs beef, veal pigs OECD/FAO OECD/FAO poultry sheep, goats poultry sheep, goats 140 5,000 120 4,000 100 80 3,000

60 2,000 40 1,000 20 0 0 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2021 1991 1996 2001 2006 2011 2016 2021

MEAT ATLAS 11 CONCENTRATION: ECONOMIES OF SCALE BUT LESS DIVERSITY

Economic imperatives are the driving force behind the consolidation of the global meat industry. This may mean more efficient production, but it also concentrates market power in the hands of just a few, much to the detriment of smallholders. And it may be risky for consumers, too.

n September 2013, Shuanghui International ground or at the slaughterhouse: its worldwide Holdings Ltd. – the largest shareholder of Chi- capacities can slaughter 85,000 head of cattle, I na’s biggest meat processor – completed a 7.1 70,000 pigs, and 12 million birds. Every day. The billion-dollar purchase of US-based Smithfield meat is distributed in 150 countries as soon as the Foods, Inc., the world’s biggest pork producer. The carcasses are “disassembled” , i.e. when the flesh is sale exemplifies a new kind of consolidation that is separated from the bone. happening across borders. The direction of invest- Because profit margins are tight in the meat ment is changing: it is now heading North from business, companies chase after economies of the global South. This reflects related shifts in scale. This means that they try to produce more economic growth, consumer demand, manage- with greater efficiency and at a lower cost. For this Tight margins ment skills and corporate assertiveness over the reason, the meat sector is concentrating in two expose the business last two decades. senses. Companies are getting bigger through to volatile market JBS SA, a beef company based in Brazil, set mergers and acquisitions – expanding across bor- prices and trade the stage in the late 2000s, when it acquired ders and across species. And meat production is tensions meat companies and poultry producers in the intensifying, so that more animals are housed to- United States, Australia and Europe, as well as gether and are processed more quickly and with in Brazil. JBS is now the world’s biggest producer less waste. However, some market analysts point of beef. With its 2013 acquisition of Seara Brasil, out that the meat business is inherently risky and a unit of rival company Marfrig Alimentos SA, it that, based on recent financial performance, the is also the world’s largest chicken producer. JBS is multi-species strategy may be backfiring due to among the world’s top ten international food and different cultures and processes that pose chal- beverage companies, with food sales amounting lenges to newcomers. In other words, knowing to 38.7 billion dollars in 2012. how to grow, slaughter, process and transport cat- It also has business units in leather, pet prod- tle may not translate easily into managing poultry ucts, collagen and biodiesel. Though JBS is not a operations. household name, its annual food revenues are Volatile feed-grain prices add to the financial higher than those of major global food players risk in the meat sector: higher-priced feed means such as Unilever, Cargill and Danone. These fig- higher production costs and lower profits. With ures give us an idea of what JBS’s size means on the the deregulation of commodity markets at the

World meat prices compared World food prices compared

Indices, 2002–4 = 100 Indices, 2002–4 = 100 FAO FAO

beef, veal pigs poultry sheep, goats FAO 220 220

190 190

160 160 meat 130 130 dairy products food 100 100

70 70 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2006 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

12 MEAT ATLAS The Top Ten of the international meat industry

Companies by total food sales (2011–13), billion dollars

7 /ETC Smithfield Foods. 3 Founded in 1936; 2012 revenues: 13.1 billion dollars. Largest pork 9 eatherhead

Cargill. Founded 1865, L producer and processor in the USA. 33 family-owned business. 2013 Danish Crown AmbA. Sold to Chinese Shuanghui Founded 1998 after several revenues: 32.5 billion dollars. International Holdings Ltd., with mergers. 2012 revenues: 22 percent share in the US meat revenue of 6.2 billion dollars, 10.3 billion dollars. Major market, biggest single in 2013 subsidiaries in USA, Poland and 33 exporter in Argentina, 10 13 Danish Crown AmbA Sweden. Europe’s largest meat worldwide operations Vion producer, world’s biggest 9 pork exporter Cargill 13 5 13 5 Smithfield Foods Nippon Meat Packers 3 Vion. Founded in 2003 after several mergers. 6 Tyson Foods 7 2011 revenues: 13.2 billion 8 Hormel Foods dollars. Largest meat processor 2 37 in Europe, rapid growth 10 (2002: 1 billion dollars)

2 TysonFood. 6 Founded 1935; 2012 revenues: Nippon Meat Packers. 33.3 billion dollars. World’s Founded in 1949; largest meat producer and 15 JBS 1 2013 revenues: 12.8 billlion second-largest processor of dollars. Commonly known as Founded in 1953; chicken, beef JBS. Nippon Ham. Operations in BRF 2012 revenues: and pork 59 locations in 12 countries, 38.7 billion dollars. World’s largest 13 1 mostly in Asia and food-processing company, leader 10 4 Australia Marfrig in slaughter capacity. Recently Hormel Foods. acquired Smithfield Foods’ beef Founded 1891; 2012 revenues: 8 4 business and Malfrig’s poultry 8.2 billion dollars. and pork units 40 manufacturing and distribution BRF. Founded in 2009 as 8 facilities. Owner of “Spam”, a Brasil Foods after a merger Marfrig. Founded precooked meat product; of Sadia and Perdigão. 2012 in 2000 after several mergers. focusing on ethnic food revenues: 14.9 billion dollars. 2012 revenues: 12.8 billion dollars. 60 plants in Brazil, present Company units in 22 countries. in 110 countries World’s fourth largest beef producer. In 2013, sold poultry and pork units to JBS

turn of the 21st century, feed prices have become (including antibiotic resistance), food safety, ani- less dependent on supply and demand, and more mal welfare, the environment, water security, la- dependent on the speculative market manipula- bour security and innovation. tions that create price spikes. Add to that the role Extreme efficiency itself also carries a risk. One biofuels have had on prices for soy and maize, and cattle feedlot operator in the United States says the volatility in the price of fertilizers. Goldman that he is unsure where the economies of scale Sachs, an investment bank and titan of commodity end, because 100,000-head feedlots for cattle are trading, was ever-present in the Shuanghui-Smith- now possible. Several exist in the United States Consumers field deal. It had been hired to advise Smithfield on and their production costs are lower than for any potential sale, and it owns a 5 percent stake in smaller feedlots. Logistics in large production may get lower Shuanghui. In 2012, Goldman made an estimated units are manageable nowadays, but the larg- prices, but the 1.25 billion dollars from commodity trading. er the system, the more vulnerable it is. In an in- risks to society Why does size matter? The implications of the tensified environment, for example, pathogens are higher meat industry’s two-tiered concentration – corpo- can spread more quickly and easily from one rate consolidation and the intensification of meat animal to another, both on the feedlot and during production – are wide-ranging. It is virtually im- transport. The same is true for the slaughterhouse possible for the consolidated industry to coexist as the speed of processing increases. Furthermore, with small producers. These multinational struc- in the event of a disaster, such as a flood, the sys- tures both wipe out a critical source of income tem will not be able to maintain its capacity. And if for the global poor, and they radically diminish consumer demand declines, companies run with consumer choices. Through economies of scale, a low margin of safety may risk collapse. There- concentration offers greater profit potential for fore, insurance companies with custom-tailored stockholders and financiers; for other stakehold- risk assessments are becoming an important part ers, however, it increases risks to human health of the modern meat business.

MEAT ATLAS 13 MAKING PRODUCTS FROM ANIMALS: THE SLAUGHTER INDUSTRY

To get from steer to steak, the steer has to die. Today, slaughtering is highly industrialized. Abattoirs are production lines with semi-skilled workers toiling in poor conditions. The industry has moved out of cities, hidden from view. Animal-rights groups are questioning the ethics of the slaughter industry.

t the start of the 20th century, Chicago was In poorer countries, the introduction of public the cradle of the slaughter industry. Using or private slaughterhouses is the first step towards A moving production lines, it took just 15 the processing of animals in a hygienic way. At the minutes for a cow to be killed, fully eviscerated other end of this transformation, the efficient fac- and cut up. Up to 12 million animals were slaugh- tories that are standard in industrial countries are tered annually in the city: this method was so effi- now spreading in the developing world. In these cient that Henry Ford adopted the production-line facilities, periodic food scandals are forcing strict- process to make cars. er, costlier hygiene measures. With industrialization, the slaughter pro- The battle for the lowest prices is therefore be- cess has become centralized worldwide. Dur- ing fought on the workers’ backs. Millions of peo- ing the Great Depression of the twenties, several ple worldwide work in slaughterhouses; no one dominant conglomerates emerged in the United knows exactly how many. Their work is regarded Abattoir States, followed by a long period of deconsoli- as “dirty”. Especially in Western industrialized dation. But with the deregulation and stock nations, they get little social recognition and are workers have low market boom of the 1970s, the sector again even shunned. Low wages and terrible working status, endure poor concentrated rapidly. Between 1967 and conditions are the rule rather than the excep- conditions, and 2010, the number of slaughterhouses in the tion. High-speed, monotonous work, the risk of earn little United States fell from almost 10,000 to less accidents with dangerous equipment and chemi- than 3,000. cals, or strained backs and limbs all make for a Today, ten corporations slaughter 88 percent highly stressful combination. Other factors are of the total number of pigs. The global capacity of heat or cold, constant noise, a risk of infectious the companies is hard to believe: Tyson Foods, a diseases, and early or late shifts, depending on US firm that is second only to the Brazilian com- the type of work. Plus, the handling and slaughter pany JBS, slaughters 42 million chickens, 170,000 of animals can add to the workers’ stress. Many cattle and 350,000 pigs – every week. These ani- workers say they have to be especially “hard” to mals come from the company’s own breeding do their work. units, and are processed in its own factories and With industrialization, the process of deskill- often sold under its own brand. This strategy aims ing and mechanization also set in. Today’s slaugh- to extract as much profit as possible from the terhouse workers need few of their traditional value chain “from field to fork”. In addition, the skills and craft knowledge. Instead, companies slaughterhouse may process animals from other hire cheap, semi-skilled workers. Migrants from companies too. Mexico to North America, and from Eastern to

Slaughterhouses and market concentration in the USA

Number of slaughter establishments Market share of four firms in slaughter of cattle and pigs, percent enny D

12,000 80 70 10,000 60 8,000 50 6,000 40 cattle 30 4,000 pigs 20 2,000 10 0 0 1967 1977 1987 1997 2007 1965 1975 1985 1995 2005

14 MEAT ATLAS animals slaughtered worldwide

Offi cial and estimated data, 2011, heads 517 58 110 296 000 000 000 000 000 000 1 383 24 000 000 000 000 654 430 000 000 buffaloes chickens 000 000 cattle ducks goats turkeys sheep geese and pigs guinea fowl 2 817 000 000 Slaughter by countries, four most important, 2011, heads

35 108 100 46 193 000 8 954 959 000 USa cattle and China USa 11 080 000 000 buffaloes China 649 21 490 000 poultry India 5 370 102 000 2 049 445 000 000 000 39 100 000 Brazil Indonesia Brazil

59 735 680 273 080 000 110 956 304 Germany 661 702 976 84 110 000 China USa China India 38 600 000 44 270 000 28 980 000 Nigeria pigs Vietnam sheep and Bangladesh goats FAOSTAT

Western Europe work in the slaughterhouses for is only a vacuum-packed meat product on a su- short periods, and are largely defenceless against permarket shelf. the companies’ demands. Back in the 1960s, la- Finally, the treatment of animals in slaughter- bour unions in the meat industry were still strong; houses is subject to criticism on two fronts. The in the last two decades they have had a much animal welfare movement objects to frequent harder time. Workers have little say in their work violations of regulations and cruelty to animals, conditions, and collective wage agreements are such as long transports, inadequate anaesthesia, unknown in most parts of the world. or the beating of animals when they are driven we severed In most industrial countries, the slaughter- in the slaughterhouse. houses have been relocated from the cities to the The animal rights movement, on the other the link between rural periphery. The cruelty of slaughtering and hand, criticizes the mass-slaughter of animals living animals and images of blood and squealing animals have to as a matter of principle: it says that meat pro- the packaged be hidden from consumers’ eyes and ears. This re- duction is always associated with violence products fl ects a modern social norm: violence is banished against animals. Animal rights activists do not from public view. Slaughtering and butchery are want to reform slaughter; they want to abolish made invisible for the majority. The connection it altogether. They say that the meat industry re- between the meat and the living animal that is gards animals as mere products, whereas society trucked to town and dies in the slaughterhouse should recognize their individuality and capacity has been severed. What most consumers now see for suffering.

MEaT aTlaS 15 REtail

BRIGHT PINK IN THE COLD CABINET

It’s goodbye to the neighbourhood butcher and hello to supermarket chains. The shift to Big Retail is now washing over developing countries. The demands of the rising middle classes are setting the agenda.

emember those butchers who cut up sides ket share of supermarkets in these countries rose of beef or pork in a tiled back room, and from 10, to 50 or 60 percent. The second wave, in R sold joints and sausages to customers over a the mid-to-late 1990s, focused on Central America marble counter in a room out front? In nearly all and Southeast Asia. By 2005, supermarkets ac- the developed world, they have been consigned counted for 30–50 percent of the market share to history. Meat today, pre-cooled to 0–4°C, is there. The third wave began in 2000 and washed delivered to supermarkets from the wholesaler over China and India, as well as big latecomers or direct from the abattoir. All the supermarket such as Vietnam. In only a few years, supermarket staff have to do is put the goods in refrigerated sales in these countries were growing by 30 to 50 “Food deserts”: display cabinets, and customers can choose the percent a year. ready-packaged items themselves directly from Why this huge shift? It is not only due to the where convenience the shelves. To keep self-service items looking rising purchasing power of the middle classes, stores and fast-food fresh for days on end, pork chops and chicken but also to more fundamental changes in society. outlets are the only breasts are vacuum-packed in an environment In Pakistan, for example, cities are expanding so source of food that is as kept as germ-free as possible. The quickly that traditional methods of supplying packaging is then filled with an oxygen-rich gas. meat and dairy products cannot keep up with the This gives beef and pork a red colour and suggests demand. The city of Lahore is growing by 300,000 freshness – even though they may already have people a year. The result is product shortages and been in storage for several days. poor quality, factors that drive the middle classes Meat, a luxury in many parts of the world only into the supermarkets, says the Express Tribune, 10 or 20 years ago, is now a part of the daily diet for a Pakistani daily. Working women, who are still a growing number of people in developing coun- responsible for cooking for their families, have no tries. Big supermarket chains such as Walmart time to go from shop to shop to check the meat from the USA, France’s Carrefour, the UK’s Tesco quality or haggle over prices. and Germany’s Metro are conquering the globe. Investing in spacious stores is worthwhile in Their expansion has sparked huge investments places with thousands of potential customers. In by domestic supermarket companies. The process locations where mobility is high, such as the car- has been well researched. The first wave began in friendly suburbs of US cities, poor people cannot the early 1990s in South America, in East Asian ti- find a grocery store within walking distance that ger economies like South Korea and Taiwan, and sells fresh produce they can prepare themselves. South Africa. Between 1990 and 2005, the mar- The only food they can buy is ready-to-eat meals

Slowing down in China Expansion mode in India

Annual percentage change in store growth, 2010–14, and market shares, 2012, percent Food retail chains, stores and planned additions ard tand

12 existing, 2012/13 S uromonitor 11 6.5 E planned, 2013/14 usiness

10 B 9 2.3 84.1 8 1.5 + 250 0.6 + 125 7 0.4 0.3 602 6 4.3 500 5

4 +38–50 independent 3 chain Yum!* Hua Lai Shi 166 2 McDonald’s Shigemitsu 1 Ting Hsin Kungfu Domino’s McDonald’s Yum!* 0 other fast-food chains 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 independent fast food *Kentucky Fried Chicken, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell (estimate)

16 MEAT ATLAS REtail

from fast-food outlets. Researchers call these areas Growth in the supermarket fridges “food deserts”. At the same time, the contents of shoppers’ trolleys come from further and further Retail value, 2012/13, million dollars, by country away. Products come from central warehouses and big abattoirs that supply all the retail branches 600 + 150–299 no growth uromonitor in a region or even a whole country. The huge vol- 300–599 0.1–149 negative growth E umes and secure cold chains ensure that the items are usually fresh, despite long transport distances. Selling standardized products simplifies ad- CA vertising and gives the supermarket chains enor- UK DE CN mous market power, enabling them to dictate US prices to their suppliers. At the same time, the su- canned/preserved meat products permarket chains compete with each other. This pushes prices down, and means that locally pro- duced products are relegated to particular niches. With the opening of global markets, millions of small-scale retailers have gone under because RU they do not handle the volumes needed to justify US TR IR suitable cold rooms or to ensure the continuous CN cooling of meat, eggs and milk. chilled processed meat Price wars and price dumping result in peri- odic scandals involving meat that is sold past its AR sell-by date, produced using hormones, or misla- belled. Global supply chains are particularly com- RU plex for processed products. They have resulted UK DE UA in donkey, water buffalo and goat meat ending US FR IR up on plates instead of beef in South Africa, and TR horsemeat being sold as beef in Europe. In India, MX VE SA cheese NG meat labelled as buffalo in fact came from the il- BR legal slaughter of cattle. In China, the world’s biggest producer and AR consumer of meat, pork is the most popular type of meat. Most pigs are still raised by smallholders RU DE rather than in intensive factory farms, although US IR CN FR this is changing and the government is pushing IN NG hard for intensive pig-raising. Big abattoirs are drinking milk products MX VE ID still rare. Most slaughterhouses continue to use BR manual or semi-mechanical methods, and hy- AR ZA AU giene conditions are seldom checked. Many places lack a functioning cold chain, so most meat is sold RU to consumers already cooked. But the demand for UK DE meat from supermarkets is growing, and it now US CN accounts for 10 percent of total meat sales. Such FR TR IR products are seen as “Western” and are growing frozen processed poultry in popularity because they are cheap and associ- ated with freshness, hygiene and comfort. International fast food chains like McDon- ald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) open new RU branches in China every day: McDonald’s cur- UK FR rently has around 1,700 restaurants, and KFC, the US IR market leader, has announced its 4,500th outlet. Customers are familiar with pledges made by ready meals (with/without meat) DZ these chains, ensuring that their suppliers are con- BR stantly certified and monitored. However, eaters’ appetites have repeatedly been spoiled by food scandals. In late 2012 and early 2013, KFC had to grapple with two separate cases of poultry meat AR Argentina DE Germany IR Iran contaminated by antibiotics. Its business fell by AU Australia DZ Algeria MX Mexico BR Brazil FR France NG Nigeria TR Turkey US USA 10 percent and had still not yet recovered by the CA Canada ID Indonesia RU Russia UA Ukraine VE Venezuela autumn of 2013. McDonald’s was pulled into the CN China IN India SA Saudi Arabia UK United Kingdom ZA South Africa mire: its sales also declined. Retailers must fear consumers – even in China.

MEAT ATLAS 17 FREE TRadE VERSUS SaFE Food

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement currently being negotiated between the United States and the European Union promises to boost trade and jobs. But it may also weaken existing consumer-protection laws on both sides of the Atlantic.

n theory, liberalizing trade should increase eco- Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership nomic activity and lift all boats, creating jobs (TTIP) in 2013. Intended to bolster their fragile I and economic growth for all. But reality can be economies, this could become the biggest bilat- quite different. Free-trade deals are no longer only eral free-trade agreement in history. The United about quotas and tariffs. They can have a sizeable States is the EU’s biggest market for agricultural impact on the ability of governments to set stand- exports, and the EU is the United States’ fi fth-larg- ards for meat production and to regulate the est trading partner for agricultural goods. Power- offi cials discuss global meat industry – from animal welfare, ful interest groups on both sides of the Atlantic, lower barriers for health, labelling and environmental protec- including the farm, feed and chemicals indus- pharmaceuticals tion to the industry’s corporate legal rights. tries, are pushing hard for an agreement that dis- behind But approaches to food safety often differ mantles barriers to trade in agriculture, including closed doors from country to country. The European Union the meat subsector. bases its safety rules for food and chemicals on Such an agreement could result in drastic the “precautionary principle”. This cornerstone changes in standards on the use of antibiotics in of Union law permits the EU to provisionally re- meat production, genetically modifi ed organ- strict imports that might carry a human or envi- isms, animal welfare, and other issues. “Regulato- ronmental risk where the science is not defi nitive. ry coherence” to expand trade between the Unit- The United States states that it makes decisions ed States and the EU sounds good in principle. But based on “sound science” and cost-benefi t analy- the issues are complex. Consumers on both sides sis, which in the case of GMOs has been based on of the Atlantic should be concerned that the TTIP industry supplied data. could derail attempts to strengthen food safety Despite their different food-safety regimes and animal welfare in the meat industry. Industry and consumer preferences, the European Union on both sides of the Atlantic will seek to lock in the and the United States started negotiations for a lowest standards in order to expand its markets. winners and losers from transatlantic trade talks

Percentage expected gains and losses in real per capita income as a result of tougher competition in core markets. IFO Assumes that tariffs and non-tariff barriers are abolished, and other trade regimes remain unchanged.

7.3 Sweden 6.2 9.7 Finland Canada UK -9.5 6.9 Ireland 13.4 6.6 USa Spain

Mexico -7.2

-9.5–-6.1 -6.0–-3.1 -3.0–0.0 0.1–3.0 australia 3.1–6.0 -7.4 6.1–13.4 no data

18 MEaT aTlaS The United States has for years tried to repulse Meat trade between the USA and the EU EU restrictions on genetically modified organ- isms and the use of controversial food and feed Imports and exports, million dollars additives. There is the case of ractopamine, used 2010 2011 2012 in the United States as a feed additive to increase ERS USDA lean meat production in pork and beef. Its use is banned in 160 countries, including the European 946 1,154 988 Union, largely because of the lack of independent scientific studies assessing its safety for human total meat trade health. Currently the United States is not allowed to export meat from animals treated with ractopa- mine to the EU. American agribusiness and meat- 1,652 2,031 2,154 processing companies want the EU to lift this ban and include the issue in the TTIP negotiations. USA EU After several years of relative quiet, an old trade dispute has been reopened. Under the TTIP, beef, veal 136 231 223 the USA is once again seeking approval of peroxy- acid, a substance with antimicrobial properties 298 326 355 pork commonly used in the USA to clean raw poultry after slaughter. In the EU, using peroxyacid is seen poultry, eggs 219 218 199 as contrary to the “farm to fork” concept of mini- mizing the use of chemicals, allowing only hot water for decontaminating poultry. 741 868 845 cheese Also, the TTIP presents an opportunity for multinational corporations to bypass European citizens’ opposition to genetically modified foods, many of which are prohibited in the EU. The US government and food companies have chal- and health aspects of industrial animal produc- lenged these rules as unfair “technical barriers” to tion. Instead of driving standards to the bottom, trade. Now, through closed and non-transparent consumers and activists in the United States and negotiations, the fear is that the EU will use the the EU should demand that governments use the TTIP negotiations as a reason to lower standards opportunity of the TTIP to raise standards and on the use of genetically modified organisms. rigorously regulate the meat industry. Or they The EU, for its part, is seeking to overturn the should abandon the talks altogether. US ban on beef imports from the EU. The United States prohibits the use or import of feed ingre- dients that are known to transmit bovine spongi- Feed trade between the USA and the EU form encephalopathy (BSE, or “mad cow disease”). Food-safety advocates in the USA are concerned Imports and exports, million dollars that EU policies governing the use of feed ad- 2010 2011 2012 ditives made from ruminants are not strong ERS USDA enough to prevent contamination. Since the EU corn (maize) 43 239 18 is currently considering relaxing the standards that regulate the use of feed additives made from sorghum 38 239 1 ruminants, the risk of trade in beef contaminated with BSE would increase. feed and 320 492 265 Moreover, food-safety measures that seek to fodder eliminate health and environmental impacts of the meat industry could be challenged under USA EU the “investor-state dispute settlement” mecha- nism. This clause present in many trade agree- oil seeds 2,072 1,632 2,676 ments allows companies to sue governments for compensation over rules that affect their profits. soy 1,108 795 1,481 Agribusiness firms are lobbying to make food- safety standards “fully enforceable” through the feed and 217 270 265 investor-state mechanism in the TTIP. Since this fodder mechanism gives international investors the legal right to “stable investment conditions”, making changes in environmental or animal health law 872 928 1,016 oil seeds would be much more difficult. 847 897 976 olive oil The TTIP could also make it much more diffi- cult to address the negative environmental, social

MEAT ATLAS 19 THE HIDDEN COSTS OF STEAK

The price tag on a package of meat does not reflect the true cost of producing the contents: the hidden costs to the environment and the taxpayer are much higher. If these costs are included, livestock raising would probably make a net loss.

round 1.3 billion people worldwide live countants have developed their own “environ- from animal husbandry – most of them in mental-economic accounting” that estimates A developing countries. The majority graze damage to nature in monetary terms. It covers the their animals on land around the village, some costs of factory farming that do not appear on the move from place to place with their herds, and company’s balance sheet, such as money saved by others keep a few chickens, cattle or pigs near keeping the animals in appalling conditions. Costs their homes. In the developed world and rap- to nature are incurred by over-fertilization caused idly growing economies, the number of livestock by spreading manure and slurry on the land and keepers is falling. The livestock sector is becoming applying fertilizers to grow fodder maize and oth- Damage industrialized and meat producing companies er crops. If the quality of water in a well declines are expanding. because of high nitrate content, the costs are to nature is The profits of these companies are not hard to calculate: they often are only recognized hard to measure just a result of their own efforts. They are also when the well has to be capped and drinking wa- in monetary built on the environmental damage caused by ter shipped in from somewhere else. Other exter- terms factory farming and the use of livestock feed – nalities – costs that do not appear in the consumer costs that the companies do not have to pay. In price – arise if over-fertilization means the soil can addition, they receive subsidies from the state. no longer function as a filter for rainwater, if ero- These subsidies are often distributed true to the sion carries it away, if biodiversity declines, or if motto: the bigger the company, the higher the algal blooms kill fish and deter tourists. subsidy. No consolidated economic and ecologi- However, for the majority, the most extensive cal accounting has yet been done, but we can dis- damage occurs further away from the cause. In- cern its broad outlines. When an animal product tensive livestock production releases nitrogen is purchased, three prices have to be paid: one by compounds such as ammonia into the atmos- the consumer, one by the taxpayer and one by phere, contributing markedly to climate change. nature. The consumer uses the first price to judge According to the European Nitrogen Assessment the item’s value. The other two prices represent in 2011, this damage amounted to some 70 to 320 hidden subsidies to the people who produce and billion euros in Europe. The authors of this study merchandise it. concluded that this sum could exceed all the prof- The costs borne by the environment are prob- its made in the continent’s agricultural sector. ably the biggest, but they are hard to calculate. If this were counted, the sector as a whole would Over the last three decades, economists and ac- make a loss.

Different regions, different levels of support

Percentage of gross farm

receipts from government OECD for livestock, by region, classification by OECD, 24.3 2010–12

12.5 Commonwealth of Independent States 4.8 Europe 14.4 North America Asia

2.61

Southern hemisphere

20 MEAT ATLAS direct subsidies for animal products and feed

Industrialized countries (OECD members), estimates for 2012, in billion dollars OECD

eggs 1.5 milk 7.3 pigmeat 15.3

poultry 1.1 18.0 6.5 sheep beef and veal 2.3 soybeans

In China, the immediate costs of over-fertili- can pay so little only if the state does not impose a zation are estimated at 4.5 billion dollars a year, statutory minimum wage. mainly because water quality suffers from in- Few poor countries can subsidize their farmers tensive livestock production. The main problem in this way. Instead, they tend to support them Poor countries is that in rapidly developing areas of East Asia, through laws that permit the exploitation of farmers and agricultural fi rms are replacing the people and the environment. To remain the support the traditional organic fertilizers – manure and fae- cheapest suppliers of feed or meat in the world industry through ces – with synthetic nitrogen. Manure, which used market, governments allow workers to toil weak laws and to be considered the best type of fertilizer in inte- in slave-like conditions and for little pay, they lax controls grated farming, now has to be disposed of some- lease government land to large-scale producers how – in a river, on a dump, or trucked to where it at cheap rates, and they fail to act against loggers can be used. To ensure the highest yields, the fi elds who clear areas of land for ranchers to occupy. are fertilized with commercial agrochemicals containing readily soluble nutrients as well. This results in a double burden on the environment. Farmers’ income from public money Cheap meat is made possible only by polluting the environment. Industrialized countries (OECD members), percentage of gross farm receipts,

The other big unknown in the real price of by animal product OECD meat are subsidies using public funds. A package 1995–97 50 of subsidies may consist of many different com- 2010–12 ponents. The European Union offers subsidies for fodder crops and supports up to 40 percent of the 40 cost of investing in new animal housing. A crisis fund, set up in 2013, can be used to support factory 30 farms, for example to support the export of meat and milk powder. Further burdens are heaped onto national 20 taxpayers. They pay for the costs of transport in- frastructure, such as ports needed to handle the 10 feed trade. In many countries, meat is subject to a reduced level of value added tax. In addition, low 0 wages in abattoirs make it possible to produce beef, veal pigs poultry sheep milk eggs meat cheaply. From a political point of view, low wages can be seen as subsidies because companies

MEaT aTlaS 21 WHY FARMS KILL FISH: BIODIVERSITY LOSS ON LAND AND IN WATER

Overfertilization harms plants and animals and damages ecosystems worldwide. Nitrates in groundwater can cause cancer. In coastal waters, they can result in oxygen-starved “dead zones”.

ut lots of nitrogen in a body of water and its of the sea have so little oxygen that a “dead zone” oxygen content goes down. How serious a has formed, in which shrimp and fish cannot sur- P problem that is can be seen in the coastal vive. In 2011, researchers found that sperms were waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Around the mouths growing in the sex cells of female fish in the Gulf of the Mississippi, some 20,000 square kilometres because a lack of oxygen was interfering with their enzyme balance. The cause of this marine desolation lies in the Agriculture’s share of total environmental impact over-fertilization of the Mississippi basin, where almost all the United States’ feed production and Industrial countries (OECD members), 2007–9, in percent industrial farms are concentrated. Nitrogen and

OECD phosphorus are washed down the river into the Gulf. There these nutrients stimulate the growth 2 of algae, aquatic plants and bacteria, which use 35 45 up the oxygen dissolved in the seawater. A litre of 70 seawater commonly holds around 7 milligrams of dissolved oxygen; around the mouths of the Mis- area used water used energy used pesticide purchases sissippi it holds less than 2 milligrams. The only or- ganisms active here are those that do not depend on oxygen to live. The US marine biologist Peter Thomas says that 8 around 250,000 square kilometres of coastal wa- ters worldwide suffer from severe seasonal oxygen 90 75 deficiency. In Asia, pig and poultry farms in coast- al China, Vietnam and Thailand pollute the South ammonia emissions of greenhouse gas China Sea with nitrogen. The northern part of the emissions ozone-damaging emissions methylbromide Caspian Sea is loaded with nitrogen that comes 1 down the Volga. Many of the seas surrounding 40 Europe are affected: the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, 70 the Irish Sea, the Spanish coast and the Adriatic all have dead zones. The problems are caused not nitrogen methane carbon only by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution, but oxide dioxide also by potassium, drug residues, disease-causing organisms and heavy metals. It is not just the seas: industrialized livestock Water pollution: production harms the land too. Slurry and ma- 30* nure from livestock-producing areas are applied, often indiscriminately, to the soil. They can pose 80* 70* an even greater threat than the overuse of mineral fertilizer, especially on well-drained soils. Nitrates nitrates in nitrates in nitrates in surface water groundwater coastal waters are washed down into the groundwater, which can lead to contamination of our drinking water and damage our health. In our bodies they can be converted into nitrosamines, which are suspected 50* to cause cancer of the oesophagus and stomach. 70* Over-fertilization threatens the habitat of nearly all the endangered species on the Red List com- phosphorus in phosphorus in piled by the International Union for Conservation surface water groundwater * maximum value of Nature. Excessive use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides harms organisms in the soil and water, and damages ecosystems.

22 MEAT ATLAS Tropical rainforests are especially rich in bio- Fodder fields and the dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico diversity, but more than one-fifth of the Amazon rainforest has already been destroyed. Livestock is Mississippi River drainage basin, land use and water pollution FAO one of the major causes: trees are cleared to create pastures or grow soy to feed animals. And many of the pastures are turned into soy fields after a few years. The widespread conversion of pasture to cropland to produce feed in South America and Europe cuts biodiversity, since grassland usually contains more species and offers a better habitat for insects and other small animals. But intensive grazing often leads to a loss of native species, as farmers sow new types of grass that are more valu- able as feed. This marginalizes other species. Fenc- ing to convert an open range into ranches can cut cropped land dedicated to feed the migration routes of wild animals, keep them away from waterholes, and trigger local overgraz- less than 5 percent ing by cattle. less than 20 percent Mixed farms, where crops and animals are 20–50 percent managed on the same farm, often have various more than 50 percent patches of vegetation – hedges, woodlots and gar- hypoxic zone due to nitrogen and phosphate loads dens – which support a range of insects and small animals as well as certain wild plants. In Europe, the USA, South America and East and Southeast Asia, many such mixed farms are being rapidly farmers all over the world are offered the same replaced by “landless” systems to raise pigs and few breeding lines. Animals are no longer adapted poultry on an industrial scale. In such systems, the to their diverse natural environments. Instead, animals are fed with crops purchased from other they are bred to suit the uniform conditions of The oversized farms and often from abroad. This is one of the livestock houses, where the temperature, mois- footprint of factory main reasons for the nutrient imbalances in fresh- ture and light are carefully controlled and feed farms: growing water, soils and the ocean. comes from the global market. In other words, feed and spreading In industrial systems, the genetic diversity of biodiversity is at its lowest in a livestock pen on slurry the livestock itself is usually very narrow because an industrial farm.

Nitrogen on land and in the aquatic system

Main sources of nitrogen, 2005 livestock ENA fertilizers

MEAT ATLAS 23 A SPECIES-POOR PLANET

The genetic basis of livestock is getting ever narrower. We are relying on a few, specialized breeds of animals, such as the black-and-white Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle that are raised in over 130 countries. A few high-yielding strains also dominate the production of chickens, goats, pigs and sheep.

umankind has domesticated 30 species of The 1950s marked the advent of the wide-scale livestock, and in doing so has created an commercial production of meat and a concomi- H incredible range of breeds: around 8,000 tant loss of genetic diversity. Corporate breeders have so far been documented by the Food and focused on maximizing production and commer- Agriculture Organization of the United Nations cially useful traits such as rapid growth, efficient (FAO). Many of these breeds are kept by small- feed conversion and high yields. The result is high- One breeding scale livestock keepers – the majority of whom performance and genetically uniform breeds that are women – who produce most of the world’s require high-protein feeds, costly pharmaceuti- cock can sire up meat while conserving the world’s livestock cals and climate-controlled housing to survive. to 28 million diversity. For many poor households, animals, Now, a small number of transnational firms genetically similar especially chickens, sheep and goats, are an supply commercial breeds for an ever-increasing offspring important source of livelihood. They choose in- share of the world’s meat markets. The companies digenous, multipurpose breeds because they are also dominate research and development in the adapted to local, often harsh conditions. highly-concentrated animal genetics industry, Eight types of livestock are used in heavy indus- particularly for poultry, swine and cattle. trial production: cattle, pigs, sheep, goats, chick- One third of the world’s pig supply, 85 percent of ens, turkeys, ducks and rabbits. Of these, a few the traded eggs and two-thirds of the milk pro- breeds have been developed further. The indus- duction come from these breeds. try has developed these into a few high-yielding In the poultry sector, four firms account for 97 breeding lines, which are crossbred to produce the percent of poultry research and development. In animals that we eat. Such hybrid breeding is used broilers, three companies control a 95 percent especially in poultry and pigs, further restricting market share. Two companies control an esti- the genetic diversity in these animals. mated 94 percent of the breeding stock of com- mercial layers. Two companies supply virtually all of the commercial turkey genetics. Two winners of globalization The top four companies account for two-thirds of the total industry research and development Presence of Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle of both swine and cattle. FAO While aquaculture currently accounts for a small slice of the industry, it is the fastest grow- ing sector. Many of the top animal genetics firms have recently taken the plunge into aquacul- ture. They work with only a handful of species, primarily Atlantic salmon, rainbow trout, tropi- cal shrimp and tilapia. Most of the global suppliers of livestock genet- ics are privately held and do not publish figures on revenues or investments, nor do they provide an inventory of their proprietary germplasm or Presence of Large White pig breeding stock collections. This means that there is not much information being made publicly available about the size of private-sector animal genetics markets, and the sales and prices of ge- netic materials. But it is clear that the market for commercial animal genetics is tiny compared to the commercial seed market, its crop counterpart. China is now the world’s largest consumer of meat, with pork being the country’s most popu- lar protein, and demand is rocketing. The vast majority of China’s pork supply still comes from “backyard” pig producers, but Chinese policies favouring vertical integration, where one firm

24 MEAT ATLAS Animal genetics industry: the Big Seven global breeders

Companies and profiles

Genus 5 Hendrix Genetics Hendrix Genetics. Sells layers, turkeys, pigs; GROUP/USDA ETC 3 EW Group aquaculture. Privately held, Smithfield Foods 5 2,400 employees (2012). Joint Groupe Grimaud 2 development agreement with Tyson Foods’ Cobb-Vantress Tyson Foods 4 2 subsidiary 6 3 The world’s 7 Genus. Sells pigs, EW Group. dairy and beef cattle. largest player in industrial poultry 7 Revenues of 550 million dollars genetics. Sells broilers, layers, Charoen Pokphand Group Tyson Foods. in 2012. Operates in 30 coun- turkeys; aquaculture. Formerly the Sold 33 billion dollars worth of tries, sells to another 40. Erich Wesjohann Group. 1 broilers in 2012. Subsidiary 6 2,100 employees Privately held, no Cobb-Vantress distributes revenues published; 5,600 Smithfields Foods. (2012) broiler breeding stock to employees (2011) World’s largest pork processor 1 more than 90 and pig producer. Turnover 13 billi- Charoen Pokphand Group. countries 4 on dollars (2012); in 2013 acquired Sells broilers and pigs; by Shuanghui, China’s largest meat Groupe Grimaud. aquaculture. Agro-industrial and processor, for 7.1 billion dollars, Sells broilers, layers, pigs; telecoms giant with annual including the company’s pig aquaculture. Privately held; revenues of 33 billion dollars, with feed, breeding subsidiary turnover 330 million dollars farm and food revenues of 11.3 billion (2011), of which 75 percent dollars (2013), including animal is international breeding operations trade and pork units

manages several stages in the production pro- improve human nutritional status and enhance cess, mean that by 2015, half the country’s pigs rural development.” will come from factory farms. Although China is According to FAO’s 2012 update on the state of home to more pig diversity than any other coun- livestock biodiversity, almost one-quarter of the try, Chinese factory farms rely on imported breed- 8,000 unique farm animal breeds are at risk of ex- ing stock. Numerous swine genetics firms have tinction, primarily due to the growth of the indus- recently announced deals with China. This trend trial livestock sector. The narrow genetic diversity is likely to accelerate as a result of the 2013 pur- of commercial animal breeds increases their vul- chase of Smithfield Foods, for 7.1 billion dollars, by nerability to pests and diseases. It also poses long- China’s largest meat processor, Shuanghui Inter- term risks for food security because it shuts out national. Smithfield Premium Genetics, the com- options to respond to future environmental chal- pany’s pig breeding subsidiary, is part of the deal. lenges, market conditions and societal needs, all As industrial-scale livestock production replaces of which are unpredictable. In the face of climate China’s small-scale pig producers and chicken change, the long-term sustainability of livestock- farmers, Chinese factory farms, like those in the keeping communities, as well as industrial live- United States, increasingly rely on high levels of stock systems, is jeopardized by the loss of animal antibiotics in feed to promote faster growth and to genetic diversity. help livestock survive crowded conditions. The tightly-held ownership and control of breeding stock for industrial, large-scale animal Dominating the livestock industry production contrasts sharply with, and threatens the survival of, millions of smallholder farmers, Market share of breeds for milk, beef and pork production in the United States, in percent

fishers and pastoralists. In a world facing climate MEDILL change, breeds that are resistant to drought, ex- treme heat or tropical diseases are of major poten- tial importance as sources of unique genetic mate- rial for breeding programs. In 2007, 109 countries signed the Interlaken Declaration on Animal 60 83 75 Genetic Resources. This declaration affirms their Angus, commitment to ensure that the world’s animal Holsteins Hereford, from three biodiversity is used to promote global food secu- Simmental varieties rity, and remains available to future generations. It also notes that “continuing erosion and loss of animal genetic resources for food and agriculture will compromise efforts to achieve food security,

MEAT ATLAS 25 ANTIBIOTICS: BREEDING SUPERBUGS

Industrial producers use large amounts of pharmaceuticals to prevent diseases from spreading like wildfire among animals on huge factory farms, and to promote faster growth. But this is dangerous: bacteria are developing resistance to drugs that are vital to treat diseases in humans.

ause of death: scratched knee. What sounds accounts for nearly 80 percent of all the antibiot- like fiction could soon be reality. The World ics used in the country. With resistant bacteria and C Health Organization (WHO) warns that if food-borne illnesses on the rise, the US Food and we continue our reckless use and abuse of antibi- Drug Administration recently recommended re- otics in animal husbandry, we could enter a post- stricting the application of antibiotics in livestock antibiotic era in which health conditions that production “to those uses that are considered nec- are now easily curable will again become lethal. essary for assuring animal health”. It is doubtful In spite of this, few countries have addressed the whether these gently worded, voluntary guide- use of antibiotics in livestock raising. Antibiotics lines can limit the overuse – and the demise – of are used to ensure that the animals endure the antibiotics in the future. Much stricter conditions in factory farms until slaughter. A Industrial farming has intensified at a rapid large part, however, is also used to increase and pace during the past decades and antibiotics have controls worldwide speed growth. Pigs that are given antibiotics, been one of the main driving forces behind this are needed to for example, need 10 to 15 percent less feed to process. They perform two functions: they help stop the abuse of reach their market weight. animals survive the dismal conditions of livestock medicines Although the European Union prohibited production until slaughter, and they make the antibiotics to promote growth in 2006, this did animals grow faster. According to WHO, more not lead to a significant decrease in their use on antibiotics are now being fed to healthy animals farms. Systematic inquiries have recently revealed rather than to sick human beings. The use of anti- that 8,500 tonnes of antimicrobial ingredients biotics as growth promoters is legal in large parts were distributed in 25 European countries in of the world, and until recently, nearly all large- 2011. Germany has the highest (overall) consump- scale meat production in developed countries in- tion at 1,600 tonnes a year. However Denmark, volved the continuous, low-dose administration where veterinarians are subject to relatively tight of antibiotics in animal feed. controls, reports only a third of the German per Livestock are usually given the same antibiot- animal head level. ics as humans. Every time an antibiotic is admin- In other parts of the world, the use of these istered, there is a chance that bacteria develop valuable drugs is subject to hardly any regulations resistance to it. “Superbugs” – pathogens such or restrictions whatsoever. In China, it is estimated as Escherichia coli, salmonella or campylobac- that more than 100,000 tonnes of antibiotics are ter that can infect humans as well – are resistant fed to livestock every year – mostly unmonitored. to several different antibiotics, and are therefore In the United States, livestock production con- particularly difficult to treat. The imprudent use sumed 13,000 tonnes of antibiotics in 2009, and of antibiotics in livestock production exacerbates

How far we are – distribution of antibiotics and resistant bacteria in the USA

Sales of antibiotics, million pounds/kilograms Antibiotic-resistant Enterococcus faecalis detected in

supermarkets, 2011, percent of all samples EWG lbs kilograms

29.9 13.6

10 20 81 69 turkey pork for meat and poultry production to treat ill people 10 7.7 3.5 55 39 beef chicken 0 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

26 MEAT ATLAS European sales of antimicrobial agents for food-producing animals 6 Sales in milligrams per kilogram of meat stock Iceland biomass, 2011, including horses 24 EMA 4 Finland Norway 51 14 66 antibiotics are used systema- United Kingdom Sweden tically to combat diseases in 114 43 35 Estonia factory farms Latvia 49 Denmark Netherlands 120 42 Ireland Lithuania bacteria “defend” themselves 175 211 Poland by mutating, thus become resistant to the antibiotics 83 Belgium Germany Czech Rep. 44 79* 54 resistant bacteria can enter Slovakia the human body when people 117 Switzer- Austria 43 land eat meat Slovenia 192 France 104 161 249 Hungary antibiotics used to Bulgaria treat humans are 370 ineffective against the Portugal Spain resistant bacteria Italy 408

* Swiss sales unaudited Cyprus the resistance problem. They are usually admin- Once in the soil, the bacteria can be washed into istered to whole herds of animals in the feed or rivers and lakes. Bacteria interact both on farms water. It is impossible to ensure that every single and in the environment. They develop further animal receives a sufficient dose of the drug. Diag- and reproduce, exchanging genetic information. nostic tests are rarely used to check whether the In doing so, they enlarge the pool of bacteria that right kind of antibiotic is being used. is resistant to once-powerful antibiotics. Factory farms Resistant bacteria can pass from animals to The production of animals and meat is humans in many ways. An obvious link is the food globally connected with trade and transport are inevitably chain. When the animals are slaughtered and links spanning the globe. These links enable breeding dangerous processed in an abattoir, the bacteria can colonize resistant bacteria to spread rapidly. Super- new strains of the meat and be carried into consumers’ kitchens. bugs are, in the words of the WHO, “notorious bacteria But that is not the only way that humans can be globe-trotters”. The imprudent use of antibi- exposed to such superbugs. Resistant bacteria can otics in one part of the world thus poses a threat be blown several hundred metres by exhaust fans not only to the local human population, but en- of livestock houses. The bacteria are abundant dangers the health of people in other parts of the in manure, which is spread on fields as fertilizer. world as well.

How far we are – antibiotic resistance by pathogen and type of meat in Germany

Percentage of samples. Many pathogens in these groups of bacteria can in humans lead to serious diarrhoea and even death BVL Number of 100 classes of anti- biotics to which 80 pathogens are Salmonella Escherichia coli resistent : 60 4 or more 3 2 40 Campylobacter jejuni 1

20 Pathogens not 0 yet resistent: turkey meat turkey turkey broiler chicken turkey meat turkey turkey meat turkey fattened broiler chicken (retailer) (abattoir) (farm) (farm) (retailer) (abattoir) (retailer) (abattoir) calf (farm) (farm) susceptible

MEAT ATLAS 27 WHEN THE TANK IS RUNNING DRY

The growth of the world’s livestock industry will worsen the overuse of rivers and lakes. It’s not that animals are particularly thirsty; but a lot of water is needed to grow the fodder they eat, and dung from factory farms pollutes the groundwater with nitrates and antibiotic residues.

onsumption of the world’s most important look at what a cow eats during its lifetime: 1,300 form of sustenance – fresh water – has in- kilograms of grain and 7,200 kilograms of forage. C creased eightfold over the past century. It It takes a lot of water to grow all this fodder. Add continues to increase at more than double the to that 24 cubic metres of drinking water and 7 cu- rate of human population growth. As a result, bic metres for stall cleaning per animal. The bot- one-third of humanity does not have enough tom line is that to produce one kilogram of beef, 2.5 billion water, and 1.1 billion people have no access to one needs 6.5 kilograms of grain, 36 kilograms of clean drinking water. Lakes, rivers, and oceans roughage, and 15,500 cubic metres of water. people already are pumped full of nutrients and pollutants. Statistics from the Food and Agriculture Or- live in areas At the same time, the water table is dropping ganization of the United Nations are just as im- subject to water dramatically in many parts of the world. Big pressive. Producing 1,000 calories of food in the stress rivers, such as the Colorado in the United States form of cereals takes about half a cubic metre of and the Yellow River in China, no longer reach water. Producing the same number of calories as the sea for months because so much of their water meat takes four cubic metres; for dairy products, has been extracted. Water consumption contin- 6 cubic metres. And these are average figures. Re- ues to rise as the world population grows. With- member though, that not all cows are equal: an out a limit to consumption, the supply of water intensively raised cow uses a lot more water than may collapse. one that is put outside to graze. And around the The biggest water user, and the main cause of world, more and more animals are being kept in- the global water crisis, is agriculture. It consumes doors rather than outside. 70 percent of the world’s available freshwater, The effect of livestock on water is not limited to while households (10 percent) and industry (20 consumption. Water pollution caused by nitrates percent) make do with a lot less. One-third of ag- and phosphorus from manure and fertilizers are riculture’s share goes into raising livestock. This is a big problem for the livestock industry. In many not because cows, pigs and chickens are especially areas, over-fertilization is a bigger problem than thirsty, it is because they consume water indirect- a lack of fertilizer. Plants cannot absorb the nu- ly, as feed. trients that percolate down into the soil, and end It takes 15,500 litres (15.5 cubic metres) of wa- up in groundwater as well as in rivers and lakes. ter to produce just one kilogram of beef, according Nitrates in groundwater often end up in wells to a WWF study. A small swimming pool full of wa- and springs. If the authorities check nitrate levels, ter for four steaks? A surprising amount, until we people can avoid drinking it, but such checks do

Moisture extraction for food, fodder and fibre production ekonnen /M oekstra H

Millimetres per year

0–10 10–100 100–500 > 500

28 MEAT ATLAS Water used for meat production in G20 countries

2,000 onnen

Most important developed and developing countries, ek

cubic metres used per person per year /M

1,500 stra oek H

1,000 United Kingdom world a Saudi South South Korea A Indonesia A Germany

500 r ustr gentina Canada Mexico France verage Russia Turkey A A J China Brazil r India ap frica Italy abia US alia an A 0

not take place in many areas. Further problems Virtual water include contamination by antibiotics from the large amounts of drugs used in factory farms, and It takes this much water to produce 1 kilogram or 1 litre of: the lowering of the water table in much of Asia be- cause of pumping from wells. Dry wells have to be beef deepened, and they may tap into rocks that have a high content of fluoride and arsenic; substances that can harm both people and animals. 15,455 L If meat consumption continues to rise rapidly, the amount of water needed to grow animal feed will double by the middle of this century, accord- ing to the Worldwatch Institute. Human popula- tion growth alone means we have to find ways to use water more economically, because the same cheese amount of water will have to go around for more 5,000 L people. Global warming through climate change is likely to reduce water availability further. It rice is questionable whether we should continue to 3,400 L pump an ever scarcer resource into the raising of livestock . Some 2.5 billion people already live eggs in areas subject to water stress; by 2025, it will be 3,300 L over half of humanity, and conflicts over water are expected to become more acute. sugar 1,500 L

A thirsty industry wheat 1,300 L

Water use by Nippon Ham, the world’s 6th-largest am

3 H meat company, 2011, 100 percent = 12.5 million m milk 1,000 L ippon N 1.5 apples 700 L 9.7

beer 300 L 32 56.8 1 bathtub contains about potatoes 255 L 140 litres of water

tomatoes org 184 L .

food plants livestock breeding fresh meat facilities and feedlots carrots 131 L processing plants other waterfootprint

MEAT ATLAS 29 FEED

THE GRAIN IN THE FEED TROUGH

Ruminants and people do not have to compete over food. But producing more meat requires ever more grain to feed to animals as concentrates. If we cannot grow enough at home, we have to import it from abroad.

uminants and people do not have to com- cent soybean, depending on how old the pigs are. pete over food. But producing more meat re- Averaged over all livestock species, only about 40 R quires ever more grain to feed to animals as percent of feed comes from grass, hay and silage concentrates. If we cannot grow enough at home, made from grass or maize. we have to import it from abroad. Grass, silage and In Europe, the United States, as well as in Mexi- hay are low in energy, so to get more out of our co, other parts of Latin America and even in coun- A third of the animals, we feed them with a large amount of tries like Egypt, cattle are no longer fed just on world’s cultivated concentrates: soy, maize (“corn” in the United grass. They also eat maize, wheat and soybeans. It land is used to grow States) and other cereals. These contain pro- would be much more efficient to use these crops a billion tonnes tein to improve their fertility and growth, de- directly as food for people. While there are big dif- of feed velop their muscles and boost milk production. ferences from region to region, worldwide 57 per- But they are low in fibre and lead to more acid cent of the output of barley, rye, millet, oats and production in the animals’ rumens. We put addi- maize are fed to animals. tives into the feed to compensate. Even in the United States, where a lot of maize So what do our farm animals eat? The Food goes into making ethanol, 44 percent ends up in and Agriculture Organization of the United Na- feeding troughs. In the EU, 45 percent of wheat tions (FAO) says that between 20 and 30 percent is used this way. In Africa, especially south of the of cattle feed can consist of concentrates. A pig Sahara, where the risk of hunger is highest, such trough may contain anything from 6 to 25 per- numbers are unthinkable. There, people eat 80

Virtual trade in land used to grow soybeans for the European Union

In million hectares, 2008–10 net average WWF

North America -1.6 Oceania Asia Commonwealth 0.0 of Independent -2 States

-0.2

South America

other +0.2 Total land outside EU used for soybeans, million hectares -0.1 16 Middle East/ North Africa Paraguay 14 Brazil -0.9 12 Argentina -12.8 +0.1 10

-6.4 Sub-Saharan -5.4 Africa 8

0 2001 2005 2010

30 MEAT ATLAS FEED

percent of the cereal harvest; animals eat what Grassland and scrubland converted to cropland and pasture they find on pastureland. On a global scale, more than 40 percent of

Percentage of natural inventory converted to cropland pasture FAO the annual output of wheat, rye, oats and maize goes into animal feed. That is nearly 800 million tonnes. Add to that another 250 million tonnes of oilseeds, mainly soybeans. In many regions these South America are grown in mass monocultures and exported worldwide. Soybeans could be replaced by native North legumes such as beans, peas or lucerne which also America fix nitrogen from the air and return this valuable Pacific plant nutrient to the soil. But these crops only ac- (developed) count for about 20 percent of the protein used in Europe feed in the European Union. Overall, nearly one-third of the world’s 14 bil- Asia lion hectares of cultivated land is used to grow (incl. former Soviet Union) animal feed. If we also count the crop by-products that also go into feed, such as straw and seedcake Africa from soybeans, rape or grapes, three-quarters

of all cropland is used to produce animal feed in 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 some way. And a major study conducted by the United Nations on agricultural development es- previously grassland or savannah previously scrubland timates that livestock production accounts for 70 percent of all agricultural land. Feed production has become separated from animal raising. Crops intended for feed are now damage caused by the use of heavy machinery. As transported long distances, often across oceans, a result, there is a continued long-term decline in to reach the animals. That has consequences: a lot organic matter content in British soils. of livestock raisers cannot dispose of the manure On a global scale, stagnating yields affect nearby in a safe, environmentally friendly man- four major grain types that produce two-thirds ner. They have to ship it somewhere else to be of the calories: maize, rice, wheat and soybeans. spread on the fields. Meanwhile, the farmers who Yields of these four crops are growing by only Expanding grow the feed have to use large amounts of artifi- 0.9 to 1.6 percent a year. The authors of the cropland further cial fertilizers and pesticides to get a decent crop. Minnesota study think this is because efforts In addition, grain yields have stopped ris- have gone into producing livestock feed and would cause more ing in some places. According to a study by the biofuel crops. They argue that more efficient damage to the University of Minnesota, yields in one-quarter to use of current arable land and better manage- environment one-third of the producing areas are stagnating ment regimes across the globe might assuage – including in Australia, Argentina, Guatemala, the problem, but further expansion of cropland Morocco, Kenya and the US states of Arkansas and would bring big environmental costs in the form Texas. In parts of the UK, in areas that produced of biodiversity loss and higher carbon emissions. the highest outputs 20 years ago, yields have ac- Deepak Ray, one of the study’s authors, has anoth- tually decreased. For wheat and rapeseed, Brit- er suggestion: “Perhaps most controversially, we ish researchers suspect that this is due to the soil can change to more plant-based diets.”

Land for lunch

Area of land needed to produce a typical meat dish, in m2/person WWF 3.61 3.38 3.12 2.26 2.23 total area needed 1.96 needed for meat 1.36 component needed for soy 0.66 0.76 0.38 0.35 0.11

roast pork hamburger chicken curry grilled sausage

MEAT ATLAS 31 soy

THE EMERGENCE OF A LATIN AMERICAN SOY EMPIRE

In Argentina, the world boom in soy prices has given rise to a new breed of farmers, along with a huge increase in tax revenues for the government. The structural changes in farming have led to serious social and ecological effects.

he new Argentinian farmer operates like an vestors who joined together as “sowing pools” to international manager. From his air-condi- rent land from the state or from big landowners T tioned office he follows the price of soy in to grow soybeans on a large scale. These investors global commodities markets, and organizes his often operate from a few offices in the capital, Bue- production using his laptop and mobile phone. He nos Aires. And they create several types of prob- has delegated the tasks of buying seeds, sowing, lems. Because they operate on a larger scale and the application of fertilizer, pesticides and herbi- harvest more, they can afford to pay higher rents The more cides, as well as harvesting and transport to spe- than small and medium producers, thus encour- soy, the more cialized service providers. The fact that he can aging the depopulation of rural areas. Addition- get some of these services from a single pro- ally, their corporate governance structure enables herbicide spray – vider is very convenient. International firms them to avoid taxes. cancer rates are offer seed, a complete package of chemicals, Up to 40 percent of Argentina’s soybean fields going up and increasingly the marketing too. The steady are being managed by sowing pools. In 2012, they high price of soy makes this kind of hands-off paid the equivalent of 1.6 to 2.5 tonnes of soybean farming profitable even for medium-sized farms per hectare for rent – or 594 to 825 dollars an- of around 100 hectares. The landowner calculates nualized. This makes large-scale monocultures the costs of outsourcing at about 340 dollars a hec- that cover tens of thousands of hectares possible, tare, and can expect to harvest between 2.5 and blighting entire landscapes. Medium-sized sow- 4 tonnes of soybeans, depending on the weather. ing pools manage between 15,000 and 30,000 hec- A “low” price of 300 dollars a tonne still yields be- tares, while big ones can work 100,000 hectares tween 485 and 980 dollars per hectare, or a profit or more. Between 2008 and 2012, sowing pools of 50,000 to 100,000 dollars a year for a 100-hec- reckoned on a profit of 16 to 21 percent per year – tare farm. Even after paying a special agricultural and in some cases significantly more. To even out tax of 40 percent, and land and income taxes, the the risk of bad weather, they rent land in different owner still has enough left over to avoid having to parts of the country. Since 2012, new rules govern- get his own hands dirty. ing transactions have come into force and their This farm enterprise model has become com- profits have fallen to 3.6 to 5 percent (measured mon over the last 10 years. The pioneers were in- in dollars). Some sowing pools are now expanding

Key figures ofA rgentina’s soy economy

soy crop, soy production, soy consumption and exports, million hectares million tonnes million tonnes, 2013 forecast 25 50 52 52 10

20 40 9 19

15 30 33

10 20 9 20

5 10 4 10

0 0 2 1988 2000 2012 1988 2000 2012

32 MEAT ATLAS soy

into Paraguay, Brazil and Uruguay, or are negoti- The centre of soy power ating new leasing agreements in Argentina. Most pools no longer plough the land, but Exports by province in

sow the seed directly into the ground. This “direct Argentina, revenues 2010 INDEC seeding” arguably conserves the water and soil and saves time, making it possible to fit in a sec- million dollars ond or even a third crop in a year. The first harvest dollars per person can yield from 2.5 to 3 tonnes a hectare; the sec- ond and third, less. But multiple harvests require 340 repeated sprayings with herbicides, particularly 150 150 glyphosate, to get rid of weeds. Only genetically Chaco 300 modified soy tolerates glyphosate; the result is Santiago that these varieties are sown over huge areas with del Estero all the subsequent social and environmental im- pacts. Small farmers in particular are victims of the soy boom. Between 1988 and 2008, the number 2,900 of farms fell from 421,000 to 270,000. Now, 2 per- 3,600 cent of the farm enterprises control more than Córdoba 50 percent of the area; small enterprises, making up 57 percent of the total, manage just 3 percent 320 of the land. Because of the high price of land in 1,090 400 the central region, many large firms are moving 9,300 Entre Ríos to peripheral areas of the country and are buy- Santa Fe ing cheap land from the state. Again and again, small landholders and tenant farmers are being Buenos Aires brutally evicted from their land. Armed conflicts are multiplying. Lucrative soy, along with maize, is forcing cattle breeding into more remote ar- eas and into forested areas in Argentina and Para- 150 guay, adding to the pressure on indigenous com- 310 munities there. 100 2,300 Since 1990, soybean acreage has quadrupled, La Pampa Buenos Aires and in some regions, the use of herbicides has province risen elevenfold. The effects are dramatic. In ru- ral areas, such as in villages and small towns, the number of miscarriages and birth defects has in- creased. While on average, 19 percent of deaths in Argentina are caused by cancer, in these areas it exceeds 30 percent.

soy consumption and exports, share of exports from share of world soybean share of soy export million tonnes, 2013 forecast Argentina, percent, 2012 exports, percent, 2012 taxes, percent, 2011

unprocessed to China USDA, FAOSTAT, INDEC FAOSTAT, USDA, Argentina biodiesel and others 6 22 soy 24 soy taxes

3 feed beef and poultry 35 all government revenues

rest of world

stock

MEAT ATLAS 33 THE CLIMATE COST OF CATTLE

Livestock directly or indirectly produce nearly one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. But farmers and scientists say that with the right type of management, livestock do not have to be a burden on the climate.

ivestock raisers are not just victims of climate ganic Agriculture (FiBL) has determined that the change; they also contribute to it. Depending production of the world’s annual output of 125 L on how you count, livestock are responsible million tonnes of nitrogen fertilizers releases 800 for 6 to 32 percent of greenhouse gases. Accord- million tonnes of carbon dioxide. This amounts to ing to the Food and Agriculture Organization of 2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. the United Nations (FAO), it’s 14.5 percent. The big High demand for animal feed – especially difference in these estimates depends on the basis soybeans – is pushing the expansion of agricul- of measurement: should it only be based on the di- tural production. Rainforest and scrubland are Feeding rect emissions from livestock, or should the total often cleared for cultivation. FAO says that in ruminants with emissions due to feed production, the produc- Brazil alone, nearly 7.7 kilograms of greenhouse tion of fertilizer and pesticides, ploughing, for- gases are released for every kilogram of soybeans grass and garlic may est clearance to grow soybeans, and the drain- grown. Another chunk of emissions that is seldom cut methane age of peatlands also be included? considered emerges from changes in land use. emissions The production and use of feed is often When grassland is ploughed, the humus decom- not included in the carbon-dioxide footprint of poses and releases huge amounts of carbon diox- meat or livestock products such as eggs, milk and ide. One tonne of humus binds 3.7 tonnes of the butter. But environment scientists say that these gas – and 35 percent of that disappears into the footprints should include all the emissions cre- air when the soil is turned over. Another 4 percent ated during the life cycle of a particular product, of greenhouse gas emissions attributable to agri- from production to use and disposal. The produc- culture occur when farmers plough drained peat tion and use of mineral and organic fertilizers is soils. This is the most climate-damaging type of responsible for more than one-third of all green- farming: 40 tonnes of carbon dioxide can be re- house gases from livestock production. The big- leased per hectare every year from organic matter

gest culprit is nitrous oxide, or N2O, commonly that has built up in swamps over centuries. known as laughing gas, a greenhouse gas 300 But livestock raising does not have to be this times more potent than carbon dioxide. If farm- harmful to the climate. Keeping animals on pas- ers apply too much mineral fertilizer, manure or ture is worthwhile: turning cultivated fields into slurry, or use it at the wrong time, plants cannot meadows binds the highest amounts of carbon absorb the nutrients and the gas ends up in the at- dioxide in the first 30–40 years. These meadows mosphere or is converted into nitrates that pollute should not be overfertilized by too many animals groundwater. The Swiss Research Institute of Or- or with large amounts of chemical fertilizer, and

Emissions due to animal products consumed in the USA Emissions from meat production in the USA

Kilograms of C02 equivalent per kilogram of meat Kilograms of CO2 equivalent per kilogram of consumable meat EWG EWG

40 8 CH (digestion) 39.2 4 production beef 35 7 7.51 processing, transport, poultry

30 trade, preparation, 6 waste disposal CH4 methane fodder production N20 nitrous oxide, laughing gas 25 27.0 5 4.67 20 4 N20 (manure) 15 3 transport of 13.5 additional ingredients 10 12.1 2 10.9 CH energy 1.75 1.64 4 5 6.9 1 1.26 (manure) 0.23 4.8 0.26 0.28 0.55 0.59 0 0 lamb beef cheese pigmeat turkey chicken eggs

34 MEAT ATLAS What you don’t see on your plate: greenhouse gas emissions from global livestock supply chains

By animal products, in billion tonnes equivalent carbon dioxide FAO

manure for non-feed crops, 1.4 million tonnes nitrogen post-farm transport slaughter by-products draft, fibre and and processing 0.4 0.2 manure used as fuel

livestock beef 3.5 2.9 production

7.0 cattle milk 1.4

sheep and goats 0.4 feed 3.3 production buffalo milk and meat 0.6 pigmeat 0.7 chicken meat 0.4 0.2 chicken eggs non-feed products

the plant root systems should be allowed to devel- Teams of scientists are trying to find ways to op undisturbed. Cattle do indeed belch methane: reduce livestock’s impact on the climate. The beef and dairy farmers are often blamed because French research company Valorex has replaced their animals produce 28 percent of this particu- the common diet of maize and soy-based con- larly climate-damaging gas. But nearly all this gas centrates with one composed of lucerne (alfalfa), can be bound in the soil if the cattle are grazed on linseed and grass. The result was a 20 percent pasture. And these animals should not be given decrease in the methane content of the bovine cereals or soybeans as supplemental feed. A cow burps. And scientists of the Aberystwyth Univer- fed this way does not produce as much meat per sity in Wales think they can halve the methane hectare as one fed on concentrates, but the cost emissions of cows by mixing garlic into the feed: to the environment in terms of greenhouse gas it attacks the microorganisms in the gut that pro- emissions is much lower. duce methane.

A cocktail of gases: Climate change from field and stall

By category of emission, percent FAO

beef poultry

cow milk pigs eggs

manure, applied and deposited, N2O land use change: soybean, CO2 digestion, CH4 direct and indirect

fertilizer and crop residues, N2O land use change: pasture manure management, CH4 energy, CO2

feed, CO2 expansion, CO2 manure management, N2O post-farm, CO2

MEAT ATLAS 35 AMAZON

RANCHERS IN THE RAINFOREST

In Brazil’s Amazon region, the world’s second-largest herd of cattle meets the world’s biggest rainforest. This is bad news for the forest. First come the loggers, then come the ranchers.

razil has a population of 201 million people, ered by selling the timber. The low costs of invest- but even more cattle: 211.3 million, accord- ment make this land ideal for illegal, sometimes B ing to the Brazilian Institute of Geography short-term use. According to Brazil’s strict forest and Statistics (IBGE) at the end of 2012. That is laws, most of the deforestation is unlawful or is second only to India’s national herd. Animal num- in a grey legal zone. The intensification of farm- bers fell a little from 2011 because of rising fodder ing elsewhere in Brazil, caused by the expanding costs, but were still 9 million higher than in 2008. cultivation of soy for feed and sugarcane to make The area needed to keep all these animals is huge: ethanol, reinforces the destructive pressure on the more than 172 million hectares, or 70 percent of rainforest. Brazil’s agricultural land. Things have to change in the process of land Brazil According to a study by the National Institute conversion. In fact, some news is encouraging. The supports big for Space Research (INPE) using satellite image- average rate of deforestation used to be around ry, 62.2 percent of the deforested land is used 20,000 square kilometres a year; that has dropped herds, high-yielding as pasture for cattle. Another 21 percent is not significantly. In 2012, “only” 4,700 square kilome- pastures and used and is covered by secondary regrowth. tres were cleared. The government has expanded hormone use Only 4.9 percent is cultivated. This means that the protected areas and strengthened controls the world’s biggest rainforest is ending up being over forest clearing. Beef produced in Brazil does destroyed mainly to feed cattle. Despite recent not have to come from the Amazon. Domestic and declines in the rate of deforestation, cattle raising international consumers could request meat that still puts a lot of pressure on the rainforest. The is produced in parts of the country that have not number of cattle in northern Brazil – mostly the been deforested in order to raise livestock. Bra- Amazon – has now reached over 40 million ani- zil’s economic difficulties mean that domestic de- mals. Between 1975 and 2006, pastureland there mand for beef is weak. The government supports increased by 518 percent. prices and pays subsidies for larger herds and This expansion has many causes. Raising cattle high-yielding pastures. Export earnings are rising is profitable even in remote areas with little infra- by about 20 percent a year. The biggest customer structure. The costs of chopping down the trees is Russia, which takes about one-third of total ex- and converting the land to pasture can be cov- ports. Hong Kong’s share has doubled in just one

Oxygen for all: the vital role of the greenwood

Carbon dioxide storage in billion tonnes, estimates

1990 ssment sse A 2000 2010 system co 4243 45 E

Europe 37 37 36

Asia illennium M 6058 56 38 39 40 Africa North and Central America 11 11 10 Oceania

1 10610 102 South America massive deforestation forest area stable slight increases in forest land

36 MEAT ATLAS AMAZON

Spots on the world’s lungs

Rainforest losses from clearance and grazing FAO

More than 60 percent of the deforested land is devoted to cattle raising

Cattle per km2 0 1–300 > 300

historic limits of the rainforest

year to 20 percent. This is due to an import ban The US Department of Agriculture expects an- China imposed after a case of mad cow disease in a other 5 million cattle to be grazing on Brazilian southern Brazilian state. Much of this trade is now pastures in 2014. The pressure on the rainforest diverted via Hong Kong. Its higher imports have remains high. Supported by satellite data, envi- also more than compensated for a long-running ronmental protection groups have noted a signifi- ban on imports imposed by Saudi Arabia. cant increase in forest clearing in 2013. Brazil has a special quota for imports of high- quality beef into the European Union, but it can- not supply even one-third of the volume permit- Forest clearances: lower, but still too high ted. Exporters prefer to supply Asia and North America instead. And the European Commission Annual loss of forest in the Brazilian Amazon, in km2 and Russia were watchful when the Brazilian gov- INPE ernment permitted the use of ractopamine on cat- 30,000 tle in 2012. This growth hormone is already being 25,000

used on pigs in Brazil, and as a consequence, their 20,000 meat may not be imported into the EU, Russia or 15,000 China. However, other markets remain attractive : 27 countries, including the United States, Canada, 10,000 South Africa, South Korea and Japan, permit im- 5,000

ports. Brazil says that it will export only beef raised 0 without the use of ractopamine to countries that 1990 1992 1994 1986 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 2012 ban the hormone.

MEAT ATLAS 37 THE GLYPHOSATE IN YOUR BURGER

If pesticides, herbicides or medicines leave unwanted residues in meat, milk and eggs, we end up consuming them too. Gaps in research leave uncertainty about what glyphosate – a weedkiller used when growing genetically modified soybeans – does to our bodies. Legal loopholes mean we may be eating it without knowing it.

he mass production of animals in the Eu- of the worldwide cultivated GM crops are herbi- ropean Union depends largely on feeding cide-resistant, and the vast majority are Monsan- T them with soybeans, and especially geneti- to’s Roundup Ready varieties. In 2012, nearly half cally modified (GM) soy. The only “positive” effect of all GM crops grown worldwide were Roundup of the genetic modification is that it makes the Ready soybeans. Cultivated in South and North soy plant resistant to glyphosate. This is a broad- America on approximately 85 million hectares, Producers, spectrum herbicide used to kill any plant on the and exported mainly to China and the European field unless the plant is genetically modified to Union, glyphosate-resistant soybeans are used to local residents tolerate it. feed poultry, pigs and cattle in intensive livestock and consumers are Glyphosate is the world’s best-selling production. A loophole in the EU’s GM labelling all exposed to chemical herbicide. It was patented by the US laws allows meat, dairy and eggs produced with herbicides company Monsanto in the 1970s, and market- GM animal feed to be sold without a GM label. ed under the brand name Roundup. Monsanto, Why should meat eaters worry? Because the world’s largest seed producer, produces more glyphosate residues might be present at low than half of the world’s glyphosate. In 2011, this levels in animal products that people consume, substance accounted for 27 percent of the compa- and because there are growing doubts about the ny’s total net sales. With the expiry of the patent health safety of glyphosate. The problem is that outside the United States in 1991 and in the Euro- glyphosate is a systemic herbicide. This means pean Union in 2000, Monsanto had to develop a that it moves throughout the plant into the leaves, new strategy to defend its market share against grains or fruit. It cannot be removed by washing, competing chemical companies, including BASF, and it is not broken down by cooking. Glyphosate Syngenta and Bayer, that produce their own residues remain stable in food and feed for a year glyphosate-containing herbicides. Monsanto in- or more, even if it is frozen, dried or processed. troduced “Roundup Ready” crops that were ge- This means that livestock fed with GM soy eat netically modified – and resistant to glyphosate. huge amounts of glyphosate residues. Industry Promising an easy-to-handle weed-control pro- studies show that when animals are fed glypho- gram, Monsanto encourages farmers who grow sate at levels allowed in feed, residues may be pre- Roundup Ready soy, maize and sugar beet to buy sent at low levels in their milk and eggs, as well as the company’s corresponding herbicide. in the liver and kidneys. The European Food Safety Glyphosate-resistant soybeans are the world’s Authority (EFSA) is planning to examine the issue best-selling GM crops. Currently about 85 percent of glyphosate residues in animal products. These

Glyphosate – a sudden acceleration

Use by year and crop in the USA, Glyphosate-resistant crops in the USA, million pounds/kilograms, on percent of cultivated land USDA ERS USDA

100 2009 2008 90 2007 soybeans 2006 80 2005 maize 2004 70 2003 2002 60 2001 maize 50 2000 1999 soybeans 40 1998 others 1997 30 1996 1995 20 1994 1993 25 50 75 100 10 kilograms pounds 0 0 50 100 150 200 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

38 MEAT ATLAS Acceptance and rejection of genetically modified crops

Area planted to GM crops, by country

million hectares

over 9 3–9 1–3 0.01–1 centerforfoodsafety.org FAO, 0

Rules for genetically modified (GM) food (not animal feed)

banned

Labelling required:

all plant products have to be labelled, exception: for many products. Labelling not needed if if a contamination up to 0.9 percent is GM material accounts for up to 1 percent of “adventitious and technically unavoidable”. the complete product Products derived from animals fed with GMOs: no labelling (eggs, meat, milk). for a few products, with many exceptions GM crops banned in European countries

include meat, because considering the wide use been shown to be “genotoxic”, meaning they in- of glyphosate on feed crops, “a significant live- terfere with a cell’s ability to accurately copy DNA stock exposure to glyphosate […] might be expect- and reproduce, leading to potential genetic mu- ed, resulting in a carry-over of residues in the food tations and a bigger risk of cancer. In Ecuador and of animal origin”, EFSA announced. Colombia, where glyphosate herbicides have As farmers The US Environmental Protection Agency in- been used to control cocaine production, stud- creased the legal limit for glyphosate residues ies have found genetic damage and increased apply more in soybeans from 0.1 milligrams/kilogram to 20 rates of miscarriage during the spraying peri- chemicals, officials milligrams/kilogram in 1996. This subsequently od. In the soy-growing Chaco district of Argen- raise the limits became the international maximum residue lev- tina, cancer rates have increased threefold in permitted el. This change was made in the year the first GM the last decade. In all soy-growing areas of South crops were grown. Evidence suggests that one America, there have been reports of increases in percent of the glyphosate remains in the body birth defects. One study in Paraguay found that a week after exposure. Because glyphosate is so the babies of women living within 1 kilometre of widely used, most people are exposed to it on a fields sprayed with glyphosate were more than regular basis. But “real life” exposure to glypho- twice as likely to have birth defects. sate, meaning long-term uptake in low doses, has never been investigated. And up to now there has been no official testing in the EU of glyphosate Pesticides use in Argentina residues in imported GM soybeans. Applying glyphosate can cause problems for Million kilograms sold, mostly containing glyphosates other reasons too. In some parts of the world it is sprayed on large fields. This does not take into ac- 2013

count any other crops or vegetation around the REDUAS/CASAFE soybean fields. As a result, the local biodiversity 2009 sinks dramatically. In addition, the chemical can sink into the groundwater. People living nearby 2005 or who happen to be in the area are repeatedly ex- 2001 posed to the spray. This can have serious consequences. There is 1997 evidence that glyphosate affects the human hor- mone system, which can cause irreversible effects 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350 at particular life stages, such as during pregnan- cy. Also, glyphosate-containing herbicides have

MEAT ATLAS 39 Poultry

A PLETHORA OF POULTRY: CHICKENS TAKE THE LEAD

In developed countries, consumption of chicken is surpassing that of beef, and chicken production is now highly industrialized. Demand in Asia is rising fast, and people who refuse pork and beef are happy to eat chicken.

ndustrial poultry production is the fastest grow- growth is forecast for the USA (16 percent) and the ing and most quickly changing segment of a EU (4 percent). The most dramatic change in de- I highly globalized livestock industry. By 2020, mand for poultry meat, however, will take place 124 million tonnes of poultry will be produced in South Asia, where it is expected to rise more globally – an increase of 25 percent in just 10 than sevenfold by 2050. This huge increase is due years. China’s production increase will be largest, mainly to the growth in demand in India, where a 37 percent increase compared to 2010; but Brazil consumption is expected to rise nearly tenfold, (28 percent) will be close behind. Below-average from 1.05 to 9.92 million tonnes a year. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, this is due to rising per capita con- Poultry raised in intensive systems sumption rather than the growing human popu- lation. Most growth in demand comes from urban Numbers and proportions, 2005/2010* areas and double that in rural regions. FAO Why do people prefer chicken to other types of total number of of which in percentage in percentage in meat? One reason is the price. Producing poultry poultry (billions) intensive systems intensive systems, intensive is cheaper than other types of meat. Even though (billions) region/country systems, global cost of poultry production will rise as a result of 7.3 5.8 79 46 more expensive feed, chickens are more efficient feed converters than other livestock. Unlike beef and pork, there are few religious or cultural limi- 38 5.3 4.7 90 tations to eating chicken. Plus, meat consumption is expected to rise in countries where people cul- turally prefer eating poultry. East Asia and Pacific, of which China Poultry production will change as a result. 5 Large numbers of chickens are currently raised 1.2 0.6 48 on a small scale in backyards. We can expect these Eastern Europe and Central Asia small production units to be displaced by larger 12 ones. Feed will be produced in different areas, and production will become more concentrated. 2.3 1.5 64 There will be fewer live-bird markets and traders on bicycles. The numerous small slaughter loca- Latin America and Caribbean tions and retailers will be replaced by fewer, but 5 larger slaughterhouses and retail outlets. 1.0 0.6 57 China’s poultry production is industrializing Middle East and North Africa rapidly, with 70 percent of it relegated to broil- ers and spent hens. The expansion of supermar- 1.1 0.3 30 3 kets and fast-food outlets, such as McDonalds 0.8 0.1 16 1 South Asia, of which India and Kentucky Fried Chicken have helped to drive demand and hasten a shift to large-scale produc- 29 2 tion. Millions of small poultry producers have dis- 0.9 0.3 Sub-Saharan Africa appeared: between 1985 and 2005, 70 million left the sector. Small farms are becoming less impor- tant. In 1998, farms with fewer than 2,000 birds 28 produced 62 percent of the country’s chickens; 4.0 3.5 in 2009, these farms produced only 30 percent. 86 Meanwhile, the share of huge farms with an an- high-income countries nual output of over 100 million birds rose from 2 percent in 1998 and to over 6 percent in 2009. * country classification as of 2010, data 2005, more recent not available Such big flocks are difficult to manage with re- gard to food safety. Many industrial-scale produc-

40 MEAT ATLAS Poultry

Chickens on plates

Estimated chicken consumption 25.3 per person, 2012, in kilograms, 50.1 dressed carcass weight 36.5 DSW, FAO

23.6 Russia 19.1 Canada 14.0 16.9 31.0 EU-27 USA China Japan South Korea 2.4 Mexico 38.5 India 50.5 7.3 37.8 Indonesia

38.6 Brazil

Australia South Africa

Argentina

ers mix antibiotics and other additives into the tected in 1996 in farmed geese in southern China, feed in order to prevent diseases from spreading, this disease has since spread to 60 countries. Since and to make the birds grow faster. Though China 2004, China has reported avian flu outbreaks eve- has a long list of banned feed additives (many of ry year except 2011. which are used in the United States ), monitoring However, China’s trend mimics worldwide and implementation remains poor. In December trends. Poultry production, markets and pro- 20 billion 2012, Chinese national television exposed the cessing facilities in countries expanding this chickens: they “instant chicken” scandal associated with Liuhe. sector are increasingly become integrated One of the country’s top chicken producers, Li- into market chains, with control in the hands are the world’s most uhe is a subsidiary of New Hope, the biggest feed of fewer and larger companies. These trends numerous bird company in China and one of the largest in the will affect everyone who currently makes a species world. As many as 18 antibiotics were found in living from poultry. It will especially influence “cocktails” mixed into the feed to accelerate the women, who currently keep most of the world’s growth of broilers. These birds could grow from backyard chickens and it will affect the quality of 30 grams to 2.5 kilograms in a matter of 40 days. the poultry consumers eat. Liuhe is one of KFC’s major suppliers. As a result of the scandal, Yum Brands (KFC’s parent company) was forced to admit that excessive drug residues A growing flock had been found in “some” poultry supplied by Li- uhe in 2010. Billion birds FAO The scandal caused widespread outrage in chickens geese and guinea fowl the Chinese media, and KFC’s sales plunged. KFC ducks turkeys responded by exerting even more control over its supply chain. It announced that it would shift towards a “grow out” system. In this model, there 20 are no independent small producers or contract farmers that are typical of the vertically integrat- 15 ed poultry industry. Rather, the meat-processing company owns all the inputs, controls the land 10 and water resources, and employs the workers

who produce the chickens, essentially turning 5 farms into factories. Instead of moving away from an industrial 0 model, China is further intensifying its poultry 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 2010 production as a response to overcome food safety issues, despite the emergence of avian flu. First de-

MEAT ATLAS 41 WHERE KEEPING CHICKENS IS WOMEN‘S WORK

Many women in Africa and Asia are forced to be dependent on their husbands for big decisions. A few hens, chicks and eggs can build their confidence and self-reliance. Their contribution to the meat supply is often underestimated.

he global large-scale meat industry has some cise books, medicines and salt. The birds are a form impressive figures on production and trade. of savings on legs. They can be sold or slaughtered T But we should not neglect small-scale local for celebrations and funerals, to make larger pur- producers. In developing countries, a sizeable chases, or for an emergency. proportion of meat output comes from traditional For women, the social benefits of chicken- forms of livestock raising. This is especially true raising can be just as important as the economic for poultry, much of which is raised by small-scale advantages. In a survey by the Cameroonian so- producers. Families often keep a few free-range cial researcher Tilder Kumichi, Margret Vikuwi, chickens in their backyards. Systematic research from northeastern Cameroon, related how she has revealed how much meat is actually produced had benefited from her small chicken enterprise. in this way: in Bangladesh, 98 percent of chicken Ms.Vikuwi always has a reserve to deal with an meat and eggs come from small-scale producers; emergency, and she is not totally dependent on in Ethiopia it is 99 percent. In Nigeria, the most the housekeeping money her husband gives her. populous country in Africa, it was 94 percent be- Selling chickens to friends, neighbours and cus- The value of fore imports from the European Union took off. tomers in the market is stimulating, and she is con- their meat means In southern Africa, 85 percent of all house- stantly enlarging her circle of acquaintances. She holds keep chickens, and 70 percent of the feels that she is becoming more independent be- that chickens act chickens belong to women. In countries where cause of her chickens, and she now has more free- as a savings bank women are traditionally disadvantaged, chick- dom than before. Raising other types of animals with wings en-keeping is especially important as a source gives women similar advantages, especially with of income. In many countries women still are not goats and small stock, such as rabbits and guinea allowed to own land in their own names, or even pigs. Beef cattle normally belong to the men, who jointly with their husbands. They often work in tend to be responsible for looking after them. Both their husbands’ fields; if they have a plot of their men and women may own dairy cows. Regardless own, it may be just big enough for a vegetable gar- of who owns the cows, it is normally the women den. The men get the income from the rest of the who take care of them and who get the income land, and can spend it as they want. from the meat when they are slaughtered. In traditional societies, that means that wom- If women are successful at raising animals, en are economically dependent on the men. they can build up their stocks. They may be able to Small-scale chicken-raising is their job. Chickens get a loan from a self-help group or microfinance are undemanding. At best, they look for their institution, and become independent. They can own feed, and they require very little investment. purchase more animals, invest in a stall or shed, Looking after the birds is something that children and learn about hygiene and feeding. These ac- can do, and women can combine chicken rais- tivities are time-consuming, therefore they need ing with their other tasks. They can use the small to employ other people. If business is good and the amounts of income they get from selling eggs or legal situation permits, they can buy some land meat to cover daily expenses, such as school exer- and set up their own enterprise.

When women own livestock, diets improve

months of adequate provisioning, per year and livestock species, Eastern and Southern Africa households where women own the species households where women do not own the species number of meals including this meat

140 cattle 98

156 goats 114

42 MEAT ATLAS Between a lack of rights and market dominance

Distribution of labour, decision-making and ownership of chickens in four regions of Africa and Asia, by gender and family relationships, in percent wholesaler 11 retailer 36 100 89 64

100 decision-making assembler poultry sales 80

60 Northern provinces of Vietnam

40

20

0 Khulna District, Bangladesh sale of eggs consumption of eggs 70 100

60 task allocation in chicken-raising 80

50 60 task allocation in chicken-raising 40 40 30 20 20 0 10 feeding overnight treatment confinement 0 shed shed feeding watering sale of sale of health care building cleaning chickens eggs Rural households in Western Division, Gambia

13 7 8 53 18 27

ownership of chickens 74 Rural households in Dodoma, Tanzania ownership of chickens

9 15

women buying and selling of chickens men 76 children family women and children women and men FAO

months of adequate provisioning, per year and livestock species, Eastern and Southern Africa households where women own the species households where women do not own the species 98 number of meals including this meat ILRI

208 exotic chickens 166

125 local chickens 109

MEAT ATLAS 43 IMPORTED CHICKEN WINGS DESTROY WEST AFRICAN BUSINESSES

European poultry firms are not permitted to turn slaughter by-products into animal feed. So they export them to developing countries and sell them cheap. Broiler farms in Ghana and Benin have gone bankrupt.

or most people in developing countries, eat- prices in the cities had stabilized at a high level. As ing meat is a luxury. A kilogram of meat can of the late 1980s, beef from herders was in short F cost from 3 to 7 Euro in the local markets – supply in many local markets in Africa. This made several days’ wages. Nevertheless, meat consump- poultry farming attractive. Asante, a pensioner in tion is rising among the urban middle classes. For Ghana, was among those who got a loan in 1990. those who are better-off, eating meat is a status It was granted by a microfinance institute that is Chicken symbol. However, people often eat meat as part supported by the African Development Bank. He unsellable in of a feast. built three big poultry houses, each holding 7,000 The economic gap between developed and chicks, and started raising them for marketing in Europe is smuggled developing countries is reflected in their meat the nearby city of Accra. Business was good, and half-thawed consumption. While people in developed his whole family helped with feeding and clean- into Nigeria countries meet more than half (56 percent) of ing. He was soon able to buy an electric feed mill, their protein needs from animal sources, people which made the work easier. in developing countries obtain only 18 percent in However, when Ghana joined the World this way. This is in part a consequence of the debt Trade Organization, importers suddenly started crises in the 1980s. When the World Bank and the flooding the market with cheap frozen meat International Monetary Fund insisted on the pri- from overseas. Asante was able to keep afloat for vatization of many state concerns and reductions a while, but since 2006 his chicken houses have in government spending, governments had to been empty. When he died in 2010, he left a debt cancel their support for food production. A num- to his children. The family has not even been able ber of countries had invested in developing semi- to sell the feed mill, but at least they can use it to industrial poultry and pig production to improve mill grain for themselves and their neighbours. protein supplies for their citizens. An investment of 10,000 Euro has been negated, Foreign donors and cheap state loans also and the buildings are a white elephant. supported small-scale producers. The situation What caused the flood of meat to Ghana and was tempting: demand for meat was rising and other countries in West Africa? Except for Ango-

Biggest poultry importers in Africa

in 1,000 tonnes /USDA mundi Angola Benin Congo DR Congo Ghana South Africa all poultry imports to Africa x inde

300

250 NA 1,300 200 1,254

150 995 100 763 680 705 513 612 50

0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

Countries 2013: estimate. Africa 2012: FAO revision, Africa 2013: not available

44 MEAT ATLAS Hungry livestock keepers

in millions, 2010 FAO

+0.41 -2.05 +3.75 17 12 170

Eastern Europe and Central Asia 50 258 -1.42 East Asia 105 +3.35 +4.62 106 23 +0.89 7 13 of which China Middle East 328 and North of which India -1.48 219 Africa 28 160 10

Central and 150 South America Sub-Saharan Africa

South Asia

below the national poverty under 2 dollars/day annual change in poor livestock line for rural areas keepers, 2000–2010, in percent

la, there were no subsidies for exports of poultry sumption. After covering the cost of shipping to meat to Africa. Some EU subsidies contribute to West Africa, they can be sold for two-thirds less price dumping, such as the area subsidies for feed than the locally raised chickens. The local produc- production in Europe, or support programmes for ers have no way to compete. The wholesale prices new farm buildings. But they are less significant of imported chicken pieces are so low in Accra or in poultry production than in other agricultural Monrovia, that they would cover only half their sectors. The trigger was mad cow disease, or bo- production costs back in Europe. So far, no de- vine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Because veloping country has managed to impose a ban of the BSE epidemic, the EU restricted the use of on such dumping practices through the World meat and bone meal as animal feed from 1996 on, Trade Organization. Chicken and eventually banned it altogether. That is what “Fragile” states such as Liberia, Congo and breasts are so led to the export boom. In Europe, different parts Sierra Leone have only just begun investing of a chicken have different levels of profitability. in their agriculture as they recover from civil profitable that the Breast fillets are so profitable that they finance war. But they are not investing in animal hus- rest of the meat all the other parts of the bird, including the legs bandry, because of the cheap imports from is worthless and wings. For the producer, if it is not breast, it is Europe. Some countries, such as Cameroon, Sen- waste. The feed industry used to take all this pro- egal and Nigeria, have been successful in restrict- tein-rich material and use it to make feed. The ban ing imports. However, this has attracted smug- eliminated the market for these by-products, and glers who, in week-long transports, obtain EU producers were even faced with having to destroy chicken parts from neighbouring countries such them at their own expense. as Benin. In areas where the imports have not yet But now they suddenly have new customers. penetrated, poultry is a stable source of income Exporters snap up these chicken pieces at a very for many small farmers, especially women. But in low price, frozen, straight from the slaughter- Ghana and Benin, the broiler industry has all but house, and eminently suitable for human con- died out.

MEAT ATLAS 45 rich

DISQUIET IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD

Demand for meat in the developed world has peaked, and is beginning to decline slowly. Consumers’ worries about food safety are reinforced by scandals in the industry. The industry is trying to improve its image with marketing ploys, but consumers are confused and the product is not necessarily any better.

eat production and consumption in the blamed the decrease on the summer’s bad weath- rich, industrialized world have undergone er and a skipped barbecue season. Though this M a massive transition over the last 50 years. might be one factor, it seems there is a slight trend In 1950, the average person in the United King- for consumers in industrialized countries to care dom consumed just 20 grams of chicken a week, about the quality of their meat. More of them are along with 250 grams of beef. Today, Mr or Ms asking where it comes from, how it is produced, Average eats 250 grams of chicken and only 120 and whether it is healthy. And lifestyle magazines grams of beef. now carry articles promoting low-meat diets as The choice: However, there seems to be a dual trend in healthy and modern. most industrialized countries. A small number One reason for this trend may be a series of cheap meat, or of people have started to eat less meat, and meat scandals, including the use of meat that ethically produced healthy, low-meat diets have become trendy. is well past its sell-by date in pre-prepared fast but more expensive But many others cannot get fresh, quality food, foods, the presence of dioxin in chicken feed, and products and they lack the possibility to choose between horsemeat marketed as beef. Such crimes come diets with or without meat. from increasing economic pressure as well as Overall, meat consumption in most industrial- complex, distributed and globalized manufactur- ized countries is high, but has stagnated. In some ing chains. In 1954, one in three farms in Britain countries, meat consumption has even gone down kept a few pigs and sold them locally; today only for the first time in decades. In the United States, one in every 150 farms keeps a lot of pigs, and they the meat industry is alarmed by a 9-percent drop are sold all over the country. Suspicious consum- in consumption from 2007 to 2012. The industry ers do not understand the structure of the meat feels threatened by what it sees as “a propaganda sector, they are sceptical of control systems, and war on meat”. In Germany, in 2012, meat con- they no longer ignore the adverse effects of the sumption went down by more than 2 kilograms meat industry on the environment, human health per person a year. The meat industry promptly and animal welfare.

Food consumption by country groups

kcal per capita per day

plant and animal products industrialized countries developing countries WHO, FAOSTAT WHO,

2,947 3,065 3,206 3,380 3,440 3,500

2,054 2,152 2,450 2,681 2,850 2,980

1964–66 1974–76 1984–86 1997–99 2015 2030 estimate estimate

animal products only industrialized countries Europe United States least developed countries (in that year) China

1,200

1,000 1,005 1,049 1,013 929 971 977 958 964 800 923 925 694 833 976 594 600

400 191 160 178 200 132 90 141 0 1963 1983 2003 2009

46 MEAT ATLAS rich

Demand in the rich world is satiated

Meat consumption per capita, kilograms, average 2010–12 (estimate), and 2022 (forecast)

33.7 OECD/FAO 32.6 32.3 31.7 20.2 15.3 18.2 16.7 21.2 15.8 14.9 12.8 20.8 12.7 45.6 7.3 6.8 0.2 0.2 0.9 0.8 44.4 11.1 11.0 Japan Canada 2.0 1.7 European Union 39.6 38.8 26.5 24.7 21.1 20.8 22.9 21.5 22.1 20.0 0.4 0.3

USA 8.6 8.4 32.5 31.6 Australia 2010– 2012 2022 19.1 16.8 beef, veal 15.7 15.5 pigmeat 10.2 poultry 8.8 sheep, goats New Zealand

In response to declining meat consumption, us lose our taste for vegetables, and we are forget- meat companies have developed marketing labels ting how to cook them, even though a vegetarian that communicate certain animal-welfare stand- or low-meat diet would be cheaper. ards and food-safety issues to consumers. They For meat production to be sustainable, rich do this rather than adopting one of the existing consumers have to eat less meat. And we must eat certification schemes. Civil society organizations differently. We have to reduce our consumption warn that these new “standards” might confuse of intensively reared livestock, while shifting to In the consumers rather than improve the quality of the the production and consumption of meat from industrialized meat. Organic production would be an alternative grazing animals. These have a healthier bal- that takes consumer doubts into account. Organi- ance of fats and micronutrients than animals world, it’s easier to cally produced animals may not be fed with genet- fed on grain, and they can turn something we grab a burger ically modified soy; a high percentage of their feed cannot eat, grass, into milk and meat. than a salad has to come from the home farm; and antibiotics are completely forbidden, or allowed on a very re- stricted basis only. Despite this, less than 2 percent Past the peak in the USA of the meat sold in most industrialized countries is organically produced. Meat consumption per capita, kilograms, without One reason for this may be price: organically waste and pet food 2013 and 2014: estimates CME produced meat costs nearly twice as much as conventional meat. Conventional meat is cheap 85 to buy because some of its costs are hidden from the public. These include tax subsidies to factory 80 farmers, external environmental costs, or harm to consumers due to low-quality diets. In times 75 of rising poverty and big income differences be- tween the rich and the poor, many people find it 70 hard to spend more on food. Schools and canteens serve meat every day and have few vegetarian of- 0 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 ferings, further raising our expectation of a daily dose of meat. A high-pressure lifestyle is making

MEAT ATLAS 47 HALF A BILLION NEW MIDDLE-CLASS CONSUMERS FROM RIO TO SHANGHAI

Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – the BRICS – are five big developing countries that are setting out from different starting points. They may not end up with the food consumption patterns of the industrialized West.

conomic growth in the BRICS, a group of five ized world since the 1950s, will have to be estab- big developing countries named after their lished everywhere. It is not clear how such huge E initials, is reflected in their meat consump- numbers of animals can be fed. Meat production tion. Together, they account for 40 percent of the uses enormous amounts of feed grain, including world’s population. Between 2003 and 2012, their soybeans, whose production will have to nearly meat consumption rose by 6.3 percent a year. It is double from 260 to 515 million tonnes a year expected to rise by another 2.5 percent a year be- worldwide. Either yields per hectare will have to “Non-veg” tween 2013 and 2022. rise, or more land will have to be brought into pro- Both population growth and rising urbani- duction, or both. has become a zation lead to more meat consumption. Ur- The world’s two most populous countries dif- status symbol in ban residents tend to have more disposable fer markedly in their consumption patterns. In India’s thriving income than rural people. They eat more, and India, a vegetarian lifestyle has deep cultural and cities they eat differently from their country cousins. social roots. Many Hindus, along with ascetic Jains In particular, they tend to consume more animal and Buddhists, avoid eating meat altogether. In products. In 2011, the rural Chinese got by with surveys, a quarter or more of all Indians say they 26.1 kilograms of meat, milk and eggs. That was are vegetarian. But the number of meat-eaters is around 12.4 kilograms more than in 1990. But growing. Since the economic boom in the early their urban counterparts downed 48.9 kilograms, 1990s, a broad middle class that aspires to a West- an increase of 19.1 kilograms. The Food and Ag- ern lifestyle has emerged. This includes eating riculture Organization of the United Nations as- meat. “Non-veg”, as it is called in India, has be- sumes that by 2050, emerging markets will cover come a status symbol among parts of the popula- only 46 percent of their caloric intake with grains; tion. Nevertheless, meat consumption in India is another 29 percent will come from meat, eggs, still small – per person it is less than one-tenth of milk and cheese. the amount consumed in China. To keep up with such demand, the world’s In Russia, the world’s biggest beef importer, farmers and agricultural firms will have to boost demand depends on prosperity from oil and their meat output from currently 300 million gas export revenues. The country’s accession to tonnes to 470 million tonnes by 2050. Factory the World Trade Organization in 2012 has not farms, similar to those known in the industrial- spiced up trade. Strict adherence to the WTO’s

Poultry in China and India: more determined by lifestyle than by population growth

Poultry meat demand, 2000–2030, in percent, assuming population of 1.4 billion FAO

in 2000 in 2030 attributable to population growth attributable to changing lifestyle growth as a function of both population population

1.4 1.4 11 11 5 27 1.2 1.2 78 1.0 1.0 68 0.8 0.8

0.6 China 0.6 India

0.4 0.4

0.2 0.2

0 per capita consumption 0 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 (kilograms/year) 0 2 4 6

48 MEAT ATLAS demand in the developing world is rising steeply

Meat consumption per capita, kilograms, average 2010–12 (estimate), and 2022 (forecast), in the BRICS countries 29.2 (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) 24.2 OECD/FAO 22.5 19.7 34.1 14.2 13.6 29.2

1.2 1.5 47.0 Russia 41.5 13.6 11.1 2.7 2.7 45.2 3.43.8 30.4 29.3 China 2.6 1.0 1.2 2.0 32.2 0.2 0.2 0.6 0.7 India 12.3 11.1 0.4 0.4 14.4 Brazil 12.6

5.45.8 3.23.4 2010– South africa 2012 2022 beef, veal pigmeat poultry sheep

rules should, it is said, dampen the volatility of sales are attractive for would-be organic produc- trade fl ows, be it from the countries that supply ers. In India, market researchers are expecting a meat or in terms of the quantities and types of fi ve-fold increase in all organic product sales, from products. Furthermore, the Russian market is re- 190 million dollars in 2012, to 1 billion dollars in garded as diffi cult because the processing sector 2015. In 2011, sales in Brazil reached 550 million responds only slowly to new consumption trends. dollars. And in China, where the certifi cation re- This means that products are being offered for quirements for organic products are among the which there is only a low demand, and are there- strictest in the world, sales in 2015 may range be- fore unprofi table. South Africa and Brazil are also tween 3.4 and 9.4 billion dollars a year. economically dependent on the world price of raw materials. But unlike industrialized Russia, livestock production is not unusual in these coun- Russia: consumption in crisis tries. In many South African communities, long after the end of apartheid, economic relation- kcal intake of animal products, per day per capita, including milk and eggs ships were based on livestock and meat, not only 800 FAOSTAT as a trade item but also as a means of payment.

While meat is cheap in Brazil, it is expensive in 750 South Africa. Several economic crises have en- Financial crisis causes sured that the rising demand for meat is almost 700 setback High infl ation entirely limited to cheap chicken. until 2011 destroys private 650 Avian fl u, contaminated milk, dead pigs dis- savings; old Oil and gas boom industrial posed of in rivers – these are the consequences of boosts public 600 conglomerates expenditure and factory farming and a lack of controls. In many in crisis Banking crisis affects private business parts of Asia, they have awakened a consumer 550 foreign investment; confi dence awareness that is similar to its counterpart in the infl ation reappears industrial world. Demand for organically pro- 500 duced food is rising. In the big cities, new retail 0 chains and organic-food sections in supermarkets 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006 2008 are appearing. While the statistics do not differen- tiate between animal and vegetable products, the

MEaT aTlaS 49 URBAN LIVESTOCK KEEPING

For many, urban livestock is a contradiction in terms. Isn’t livestock-raising a rural activity, and don’t cities ban livestock because of the smell, noise and pollution? Yet urban livestock are crucial for the livelihoods of many poor city dwellers. And they provide nutritious food at lower prices than their country cousins.

wide range of livestock are kept within city often prefer fresh milk to the packaged variety. limits in many developing countries. They Urban residents often keep cattle, buffaloes and A perform various functions. Small animals increasingly camels to supply fresh milk. Most of kept in towns include rabbits, guinea pigs and the milk is sold, but the dairy households keep poultry, usually to produce meat or eggs, which some for their own use. Poorer townsfolk keep their owners eat or sell. Medium-size animals horses and donkeys for transport. Many of those For many such as sheep, goats and pigs are raised between who cannot afford a motor vehicle earn a living buildings, in backyards and on roadsides. They from cartage. In small Ethiopian towns, horse- townsfolk, urban are kept mainly for meat, although the sheep drawn carts serve as taxis and donkeys are used dairy animals are and goats may also be milked. Muslims slaugh- for transporting materials even in the capital city the only source of ter sheep – preferably males – as a sacrifice of Addis Ababa. fresh milk during religious festivals. As the festival ap- Management and feeding of urban animals proaches, the price of sheep rises sharply. Many varies greatly. Cattle, sheep and goats are often poorer households buy an animal several months kept in courtyards or vacant plots, and are taken beforehand when prices are low, keep it at home to graze on roadsides and beside railway tracks. and feed it until the feast day. That may be the only Poor people may leave their chickens outside to way they can afford an animal for the big day. scavenge, or keep them in cages. Both grazing and In many African and Asian cities, pasteurized scavenging animals eat vegetation in empty plots milk can be expensive and hard to get. And people and consume garbage, leftover food and organic

Developing countries: a panorama of informal production

Examples, collected 1985 to 2008

6,500 cattle and FAO BANK, WORLD buffaloes, 3,700 pigs officially (estimated no An estimated of pigs: 120,000), and 16,500 cattle, 25,000 cattle, 5,700 sheep and goats 22,600 pigs and 9,500 pigs and 11 percent of households 19,300 sheep and 53,000 sheep and produce livestock goats live in the goats live in town metropolitan area

63,000 pigs live in town Kathmandu Mexico City Havana Dhaka Hubil-Dhawad

Cagayan de Oro

4,000 cattle, Nairobi 80 percent of Dhaka’s 12,400 pigsand inhabitants are reported As many as 48 percent 15,000 – 20,000 3,250 goats live Dar es Salaam to keep animals in town of households in some Lima pigs contribute six slum areas are involved percent of national pigmeat production in urban agriculture, the La Paz Harare vast majority in small livestock Maputo Over one-third of households keep 16 percent of urban milk Montevideo livestock, mainly consumption originates from urban production, Up to 55 percent of chickens but also 44 percent from households raise rabbits, pigeons, peri-urban production small livestock for ducks and turkeys 29 percent of their own consumption households raise livestock

50 MEAT ATLAS Developed countries: livestock coming back to town

Results of a survey in the USA, 2011, 134 respondents

reason for raising livestock, percent frequency of meat eating, percent impact on neighbours, number of respondents community building noise nuisance 2 12 20 animal sounds smell multigenerational fear of injury/

13 PLUCKANDFEATHER.COM 15 engagement disease 44 education 1 32 2 44 10 4

5 better food source cost since starting livestock keeping

education ecology less meat more 0 community building culture same as before positive negative

“waste” in the streets. If people keep broilers or In the developed world, livestock keeping in dairy cows to supply the formal or informal mar- urban areas, in the broad sense of the term, in- ket, they often buy feed supplements or mix them cludes beekeeping, fish farming and using earth- at home. They may also purchase hay, straw or worms to produce compost. Its main purpose is to fresh lucerne (alfalfa) and bring it into town, often generate income and provide a meaningful occu- by donkey. pation. According to social researchers, it can help How important are urban livestock? It is hard boost the self-confidence and desire to learn and to tell, as it is mainly informal and often illegal. In work of young people living in the slums of big cit- the Republic of Congo, a study found that about ies, such as New York. one-third of the people in Brazzaville were en- However, when animals and people live close gaged in urban agriculture. Nine percent kept together in cities, the risk of disease increases. This livestock, mostly poultry. In the 1980s in Kenya, is by no means limited to avian flu. Many human almost 70 percent of the households in Kibera, the diseases, such as influenza, smallpox, plague, biggest slum in Nairobi, were practising urban measles, tuberculosis, and cholera, evolved agriculture. That included an unknown number through the interaction of people and livestock of animal keepers. Twenty years later, the houses over the last 10,000 years. Good veterinary care re- had become so densely packed that it was almost duces the incidence of animal disease and the risk impossible to grow crops. But poultry and pigs are of transmission to humans. Kept on still kept even in very congested urban areas. Ani- Why should it be allowed to keep livestock roadsides, unused mals take up less space than crops. in cities? During economic crises, it is an im- Not only the poor keep livestock in cities. In portant coping strategy. It turns waste into a land and backyards, Addis Ababa, the households with cattle have nine resource and produces valuable meat, milk animals incur animals on average. Many can even afford to hire and eggs. It raises the standing and self-esteem few costs labour for grazing, feeding and other care. The of poor people in societies in which animals play poorer livestock keepers tend to have poultry, and an important cultural role. And it is crucial for the keep a few sheep or goats. For these families, con- social security of vulnerable groups such as the el- suming their own animals on special occasions derly or households headed by women. may be their only chance to eat meat. This is im- portant not only for their diets, but also for their religious beliefs and self-esteem. Rural and urban population Interest in livestock keeping in urban areas typically increases when times are hard. In Kam- Population in developed and developing world, millions pala, Uganda, the number of urban animals rose rural, developing urban, developing sharply during political upheavals. In Central Asia, rural, developed urban, developed more urban residents started keeping animals af- 5,000 WORLD BANK, FAO BANK, WORLD ter the Soviet Union collapsed. Livestock tend to 4,000 become less important when economies recover 3,000 2,500 and household incomes increase. This also oc- 2,000 curred in European cities after the Second World 1,500 War. Therefore, a rise in urban livestock may be 1,000 a sign of economic distress and political crisis. At 500 such times, keeping livestock – and indeed urban 0 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 2030 agriculture in general – is a survival mechanism, primarily to provide food.

MEAT ATLAS 51 TURNING SCRUB INTO PROTEIN

Much of the world’s livestock, and much of its meat, milk and eggs, are raised by non-industrial producers. Many of them manage their animals on land that is unsuited for crops, optimizing the use of local resources. But the existence of these producers is under increasing threat.

ver 40 percent of the world’s land surface areas. The Borana of southern Ethiopia, for exam- is too dry, too steep, too hot or too cold for ple, have a complex network of institutions and O crops. In such areas, livestock keepers have committees that oversee their herd movements a strategic advantage: they can use their animals and coordinate resource use with other pastoral to convert the local vegetation into food and en- groups in the area. ergy. Their production methods have to be suited Mobile grazing can be more productive per to local conditions; they require specific livestock hectare than ranching, and can be more profit- Pastoralists breeds and a thorough understanding of the ani- able than other, more intensive, types of land use. mals’ needs and the local situation. That makes However, pastoral systems are increasingly break- and smallholders these methods sustainable. ing down as migration is being restricted. Factors raise animals Pastoralists are experts in this respect. include the expansion of cropping, the privatiza- on land unsuited They are mobile livestock keepers, herding tion and fencing of previously open land, and gov- for crops large numbers of cattle, sheep, goats, camels, ernment limits on animal movements. reindeer, yak, llamas and alpaca on common In slightly more favourable areas, smallholder land. Developed over centuries, their breeds are farmers grow crops as well as keeping livestock. well adapted to the sparse vegetation in drylands, They may own or rent a few hectares for crops, roadsides, harvested fields and other rough envi- and may graze their animals on common land. ronments. By moving their animals to graze differ- They also use the resources they have to hand, but ent areas, pastoralists have survived for centuries they may also buy inputs such as additional feed. in the most inhospitable regions without deplet- Their livestock may be local breeds or crosses with ing their resource base. Spending only a short high-yielding, introduced breeds. They may leave time in each place allows the vegetation to recover their animals to scavenge (e.g. backyard chickens), and keeps parasites down. Special arrangements herd them along roadsides and in harvested fields govern the access to land and water in pastoral (sheep, goats, cattle, buffaloes), or cut feed and take it to animals kept in pens and stables (dairy cattle and buffaloes, sheep, goats, etc.). Meat and milk from seasonal pastures Smallholders recycle nutrients on their farms by feeding crop residues to their livestock and us- World share, percent, 2000/2010* ing the animals’ dung to fertilize the fields and for fuel. By doing this, and by using family labour, errero they can minimize their input costs and operate 9 7 ILRI/H cost-efficiently. They may even produce livestock 13 at a lower per-unit cost than large farms. But they 15 tend to lose out against the large farms because of 50 beef 59 milk the small volume they produce per farm. 17 Data on the numbers of pastoralists and small- 19 holder farmers tend to be vague. More than 45 4 defined pastoral groups have been recorded in 7 over 40 countries, but pastoralists in some form or other are likely to occur in many more countries. In much of Europe, for example, migratory shep- agropastoral (semi-nomadic herds graze their sheep on pastureland and crop production on seasonal pastures) stubble. Sheep raisers in Scotland and Wales pro- mixed extensive (crops and livestock) 28 28 duce meat and wool in the rain-swept highlands. mixed intensive (crops and livestock, International bodies estimate that there are some irrigated) lamb 120–200 million pastoralists worldwide. Small- other 5 holder farms are estimated to number some 500 18 developed countries million in developing countries and some 600 mil- 21 * Data: 2000, year of publication: 2010. lion globally, and most of them have at least some More recent data not available livestock. The numbers are probably so vague because definitions vary from place to place, and the dis-

52 MEAT ATLAS Pastoral peoples around the world

Animal husbandry, by countries and main species, examples FAO

cattle sheep goats drome­ bactrian donkeys, yaks buffaloes reindeer llamas vicuñas daries camels horses

tinction between pastoralists and smallholders is vironment and conserve biodiversity. In Europe, fine, and is changing all the time. Pastoralists are the traditional sheep trails used by migrant shep- increasingly settling in one place; many become herds are among the biodiversity-richest spots in agropastoralists, who grow some crops but keep the continent. In the Netherlands, flocks of sheep some or all their animals on the move. And some- help maintain dykes; in Germany, they prevent one regarded as a smallholder in Brazil may count the open landscapes that attract tourists from as a medium or large farmer in East Africa. turning into forest. It is equally difficult to find data on the eco- But pastoralists and smallholders rarely have Pastoralists nomic contribution of such pastoralists and small- a lobby in political circles, and they seldom re- holders, though this can be substantial. In 2006, ceive the support they need to maintain and should be allowed the World Initiative for Sustainable Pastoralism improve their own systems. On the contrary, to follow their found that pastoralists accounted for around 65 they are being urged to switch to new technol- ancestral migration percent of Ethiopia’s total milk production, with- ogies and achieve higher inputs. They need rec- routes out allowing for the milk they consumed them- ognition and legislation to make it possible for selves, and 9 percent of the national gross domes- them to move their animals from place to place, tic product (GDP). In Uganda, they accounted for and to ensure they have access to resources, in- 8.5 percent of GDP; in Mali, 10 percent; and in formation and markets. They need adequate pay- Mongolia, about 30 percent. Pastoralists’ shares of ment for their services in landscape management agricultural GDP were 80 percent in Sudan, Sen- and biodiversity conservation. Not all pastoralists egal and Niger, and 50 percent in Kenya. and smallholder farmers want to continue their Pastoralists and smallholders do not just pro- current lifestyles, but they should be able to if they duce a lot of food. They also help protect the en- wish to do so.

MEAT ATLAS 53 IN SEARCH OF GOOD FOOD

Concerned consumers in the rich world face a dilemma. They want good-quality meat that is produced in an environmentally friendly, ethical manner. How best to ensure this? Here we look at some alternatives.

n August 2013, the first “lab-grown hamburg- es, and the natural cycles of which we all are part. er” was served in London. The substance is pro- Less consumption and farming in an ecologically I duced by growing strains of proteins in a Petri sound way would be a better alternative. dish from single cells taken from a living animal. Doing so not only produces nutritious food; it A lot of effort goes into achieving a meat-like fla- also ensures farming as a source of livelihood and Lab-grown vour, colour and texture that, as the producers a way of life. It keeps the soil alive, water and air meat might not claim, cannot be distinguished from actual clean, greenhouse gases in check, and biodiversity meat in a blind test. The idea is to get the pro- thriving. But farmers who use ecological methods pose ethical tein, meat-like flavour and texture as benefits are struggling to compete with large-scale indus- dilemmas but it to the consumer while avoiding harm to the trial producers who focus on speed and quantity. ignores ecology animal and the environment. These big producers can afford to sell at low prices This first “lab-burger” cost about 250,000 because they do not take external costs including dollars to produce, and apart from practical damage to the environment, or harm to animals issues,there are more fundamental problems and human health, into account. with this approach. While taste and texture can Consumers do not get much real information be somewhat mimicked, lab-grown “meat” over- about the meat they are buying. Even labels for looks the fact that animals, especially ruminants, meat and cured meat that meet European legal play a complex and important role in our ecosys- requirements, such as for organic standards, of- tems. In fact, the endeavour could be a new nadir ten fail to give enough information about where in the alienation of people from their food sourc- the animal was raised, its breed, animal welfare,

Certified organic agriculture

Share of total arable land, 2009, percent FAO

no data available

up to 0.49 percent 0.49–3 percent over 3 percent

0.12 0.94 0.25 5.76 3.11 0.78

Africa Americas Asia Europe Oceania world

Many peasants in the world produce organically but uncertified due to lack of chemical fertilizers

54 MEAT ATLAS attitudes towards meat in a wealthy society

German consumers’ attitudes to individual and ethical issues of meat consumption, sample, 2011

low meat consumer average meat consumer heavy meat consumer KAYSER ET AL. ET KAYSER percentage of respondents

percentage of meat in the total diet 7.12 19.00 38.31

general preference for meat

trust in the agri-food sector

environmental awareness strong positive health awareness +16 to +58 index points moderate negative fi gure awareness -2 to -15 index points eating of animals strong negative -16 to -40 index points animal welfare awareness

990 respondents, of whom 34 (3 percent) were excluded as vegetarians

slaughtering and processing methods, or advice of who they are working for. The farming business on how to store and use the meat. Labels with is shielded from market fl uctuations and the ex- full information can restore competitive value to ploitation of human, animal or environmental re- a product because they differentiate it from the sources. Appropriate practices conserve water, Consumers mass of goods that fail to provide relevant infor- air and the soil. need information mation about fundamental questions. A change in food systems is unavoidable. The term “co-producer” was coined a few years But corporations are not the only ones that can to have a say in ago to highlight the power of the consumer to go set the rules for the food market. More infor- how their food is beyond a passive role, and become an infl uential mation, communication and collaboration be- produced and active player in the production process. A co- tween producers and consumers as “co-produc- producer is a conscious stakeholder in the food ers”, and greater knowledge about our roles in the system who makes conscious choices by knowing global ecosystem can achieve real change. who produces food and how. A model called “community-supported agri- culture” has started to put this into practice. This Customer’s alternatives: community supported agriculture (CSa) is a mechanism that secures livelihoods for farm- ers, thereby supporting responsible production Number of US farms with growers and consumers practices such as extensive, pasture-based animal sharing risks and benefi ts, estimates husbandry. In community-supported agriculture, MCFADDEN a group of people guarantees the purchase of all 6,000–6,500 2013 seasonally available produce from the farmer, i.e. vegetables, meat, dairy products, honey, etc. They also share the risk of dealing with natural process- es. They pay in advance, thus helping to fi nance the production costs along the way. This arrange- 3,600 2009 ment is used in various countries. In German it is called Solidarische Landwirtschaft, in French, As- sociation pour le maintien d’une agriculture pay- sanne , and in Italian, Gruppo di acquisto solidale. This results in a win–win situation for every- one involved, the customers (or members of the 1,000 2000 scheme), the farmers and their businesses, the regional economy, the animals and the environ- 60 1990 ment. The customers get good, fresh produce. They know where it comes from and how it was 2 1986 produced; they learn about the food they eat, and they expand their social networks. The farmers get fi nancial and hands-on support, as well as a sense

MEaT aTlaS 55 VEGETaRIaNISM: MaNY RooTS, MaNY SHooTS

Only a small percentage of the population in the industrialized world describe themselves as vegetarians or vegans. Such lifestyles are more common in parts of the world where religions play a major role. In most faiths, followers are expected to abstain from meat in one way or another.

n South Asia, vegetarianism has a long tradi- diet during the month before Christmas, for the tion. As part of various Indian religions, it was, 55 days leading up to Easter, 16 days in the sum- I and still is, widespread. In India itself, about a mer, and on Wednesdays and Fridays that do quarter of the population do not eat meat. In Bud- not coincide with a feast day – a total of about six dhism and especially in Hinduism, belief in rebirth months a year. A maximalist interpretation of the and adherence to non-violence lead people to re- rules stipulates fasting on 250 days a year. In Eu- ject the consumption of meat and the slaughter of rope, religious orders and hermits practised ascet- animals. A broad spectrum of religions range in icism to dull their worldly desires. However, since Many reasons strictness, the highest of which is Jainism, where eggs and milk were permitted they were ovo-lacto to avoid meat: monks brush aside even the tiniest insects to vegetarians. avoid treading on them. Most Buddhist sects Inspired by philosophy rather than religion, ethical, religious, allow milk and milk products, some permit the vegetarianism began in the West in the Mediterra- health, ecological, consumption of fi sh, and others allow meat if nean region. The ancient Greek and Roman poets romantic the animal has been slaughtered by a non-Bud- Hesiod, Plato and Ovid mention a vegetarian life- dhist. Although vegetarianism is declining in the style as a feature of the earliest times. The Scyth- region, it is still regarded as virtuous and exempla- ians of the Eurasian steppes were said to subsist ry in many parts of South and East Asia. mainly on meat; some said they were cannibals. For religious reasons, Muslims and Jews do In the Roman Empire, it was Apollonius of Tyana, not eat pork. Historically this is probably due to in Asia Minor, who spread the idea of renouncing the risk of trichinosis, a human disease caused meat in the 1st century AD. This philosopher, one by parasitic worms found in the meat of infected of the fi rst vegans, denounced animal sacrifi ces, pigs. Some Christians observe fasting days, and and refused to wear leather or fur. eat fi sh instead of meat on Fridays. Some devout Two centuries later, the scholar, Porphyry of Catholics and many deeply religious Orthodox Tyre, wrote a special paean to vegetarianism. In Christians also fast on Wednesdays. The Orthodox his essay De Abstinentia (On Abstinence), he re- churches of East and Southeast Europe and North- jects the consumption of meat: it is unjust to eat west Africa recognize several fasting periods dur- a sentient animal, and the complex preparation ing the year. The 35 million followers of the Ethio- and digestion would distract a frugal philoso- pian Tewahedo Orthodox Church observe a vegan pher from his other tasks. Other great thinkers

Vegetarians: a growing minority in the west, a major force in India

People describing themselves as vegetarian or vegan, in percent of the population

USa 4 men vegetarians vegans

7 women SNS NVS, GALLUP, 2 men and women EU 2–10 men and women, estimates India 31 men and women

Millions of vegetarians

USa 15

EU 10–50 375 India

56 MEaT aTlaS 145

123 “Vegetarianism” and “veganism” – page views in wikipedia

Monthly click rates in August of each year, by language versions, thousands

99 25 STATS.GROK.SE 95 95 27 25 25 22 23 89 20 12 19 19 12 19 85 16 17 ? ? 16 6 11 8 16 13 13 5 11 11 9 10 10 9

73 (sept.) German French Russian

69 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 65

“vegetarianism” 49 “veganism” 44 Only click rates above 5,000 a month, selected language versions. Most users from developing countries use the English-language Wikipedia. English 31 25 20 20 7 16 3 3 4 16 10 15 6 6 8 13 3 12 12 10 5 11 10 8 9 9 9 Spanish 5 Portuguese japanese

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

are also reported to have been vegetarians. Un- pacifi sm among people, but also preached non- like Porphyry, the philosophers René Descartes violence towards all types of animals. (1596–1650) and Immanuel Kant (1724–1804) Vegetarian clubs and associations had their rejected the “humanitarian” obligations towards beginnings in England in the 19th century and animals. However, the inventor Leonardo da Vinci were soon established in many countries. The (1452–1519) and the statesman Benjamin Frank- term “vegetarian” itself was coined during this lin (1706–90) supported these obligations. Thom- time. Repelled by the consequences of the indus- as Tryon (1634–1703), an English merchant and trial revolution, the growth of the proletariat and author, was an early animal-rights activist. Taking urbanization, the vegetarians initially formed a up Indian ideas in his books, he not only advocated romantic opposition. Poets and authors such as In the west, Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), George Ber- nard Shaw (1856–1950) and Leo Tolstoy (1828– vegetarianism is a selection of vegetarian varieties 1910) joined the movement. In addition to the based on philosophy critique of civilization, vegetarianism added rather than eggs strands based on asceticism and animal protec- religion milk, tion – for example, opposition to experiments on dairy living animals. ovo ovo- products vegetarianism lacto In wealthier countries, the animal-rights veg. movement and political veganism are the most lacto recent strands that insist on renouncing meat. vegetarianism vegetarianism The animal-rights movement sees people and ani- mals as equal components of a common society; it rejects the use and exploitation of animals. Ve- veganism ganism sets out ethical, environmental and anti- globalization arguments. It is based in vegetari- anism, but also avoids the use of animal products

Some exclude such as wool and leather, as well as anything con- pescetarianism pescetarians from taining animal ingredients, such as cosmetics. In meat fi s h vegetarianism industrialized countries, veganism is increasingly accepted as a lifestyle.

MEaT aTlaS 57 WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT: INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS

Given all the problems with livestock production and meat consumption, is there anything that normal people can do? Yes: individuals can make choices about their consumption patterns, and groups can push for change.

small but growing number of people in de- and healthy menus in public institutions such veloped countries are making a choice: they as hospitals and schools. The Meat Free Mondays A are insisting on products that conserve the movement has gained momentum and has now environment and respect animal welfare. Many been established in 29 countries around the world. people are starting to choose ‘flexitarian’ diets Animal welfare concerns are also attracting at- which includes eating less and better meat and tention, and not just in Western societies: more plant based protein. United Nations agen- The Eurogroup for Animals unites 40 organiza- Livestock cies such as the Food and Agricultural Organiza- tions across Europe to defend animal welfare tion (FAO) and the World Health Organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in the production recognize the need for change. In 2010, FAO USA says that “animals are not ours to eat, wear, should respect defined a sustainable diet as “…those diets experiment on, use for entertainment or abuse both people and with low environmental impacts which con- in any way”. nature tribute to food and nutrition security and to The Chinese Animal Protection Network consists healthy life for present and future generations. of more than 40 groups and wants to shift from Sustainable diets are protective and respectful of emotion to science as a basis for efforts to protect biodiversity and ecosystems, culturally accept- animals. able, accessible, economically fair and affordable; The Animal Welfare Board of India advises the nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; while government and has been “the face of the ani- optimizing natural and human resources.” mal welfare movement in the country for the last Many civil society organizations and farmers’ 50 years.” movements are calling for a different food and The demands of all these organizations are agriculture system: one that respects both people clearly directed at wealthy, middle-class consum- and nature. Along with international organiza- ers around the world. However, no one has any- tions such as the World Cancer Research Fund, thing against the nearly one billion people, some they are pushing for less meat in Western diets of them the world’s poorest, who depend on rear-

Via Campesina, a worldwide organization for small-scale farmers

Membership by country, 2013 VIA CAMPESINA VIA

164 organizations in 79 countries

58 MEAT ATLAS ing all kinds of domestic animals, from chickens to Protein alternatives: aquatic plants yaks, as pastoralists or in mixed-farming systems. Small-scale farmers’ organizations across the globe are united in their efforts to maintain this production, FAOSTAT method of farming. million tonnes 16.5 per year One of the biggest organizations is La Via Camp- esina, an international alliance of small-scale food supply, producers, that comprises about 164 local and kilograms national organizations in 79 countries from Afri- per capita 1.3 ca, Asia, Europe and the Americas. Altogether, it per year represents about 200 million farmers. It defends protein supply, small-scale sustainable agriculture as a way to grams 10.8 promote social justice and dignity. It strongly per capita opposes corporate-driven agriculture and trans- per day 0.8 national companies that are harming people and nature. More and Better is an international network of 7.9 social movements, non-governmental organiza- 0.2 0.6 tions and national campaigns from all over the 0.2 world. It focuses on support for agriculture, rural development, and food in developing countries. 1.6 The Food Sovereignty Movement advocates for japan South Korea China communities to have control over their food sys- tems. It promotes diverse forms of food culture, in particular the consumption of high-quality local and seasonal foods and the omission of developed world, but a number of start-ups are highly processed food. This includes a lower con- investigating possibilities. In London, Ento is tak- sumption of meat and animal products. ing culinary science to new levels with sushi-style A combination of individual choices and products. In New York, Exo has designed a protein changes in laws and policies will bring about bar containing fl our made from crickets. These in- a change in society’s relationship with meat. sects emit 80 percent less methane than cattle and Wealthy populations can afford a healthy diet have twice as much protein as chicken and steak. with little or no animal protein, or shift to other Mainstreaming sustainable meat consumption sources of protein like aquatic plants. Another op- must become a priority for individuals and gov- tion is to eat insect-based protein, as a recent Unit- ernments alike. ed Nations report suggests. We are still a long way from including insects in mainstream diets in the For more information on websites, books, fi lms, see pp. 64–65.

Protein alternatives: cricket effi ciency Edible insects

Edible percentage of whole animal Insect species per country FAO FAO

55 80

crickets poultry

40 55

1–100 200–300 pigs cattle 100–200 over 300

MEaT aTlaS 59 A GREENER POLICY FOR EUROPE

The EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) has for decades supported, and distorted, farm production. It has evolved from supporting large-scale production to taking the environment increasingly into account. But problems remain. A greener CAP could promote socially and ecologically sound livestock production.

he European Union’s Common Agricultural the impression that the EU was producing agri- Policy has been an important driving force cultural surpluses. The fact that the exports were T for the industrialization and globalization possible only because of rising imports of feed was of livestock production. Until the early 1990s, the largely neglected in the debate. EU guaranteed prices for livestock significantly In 1992, the first big policy shift, from guaran- Two steps to above world market prices. This provided Euro- teed prices to area payments, had a limited effect. pean farmers with an incentive to increase pro- Domestic cereals again became more attractive a solution: support duction. At the same time, the CAP guaranteed than feed. But soy imports accelerated because the pasture, not housing; high prices for cereals, but gave no support for guaranteed prices for beef were lowered, making promote local feed oilseeds. Trade policy supported this pattern, it more attractive to rear pigs and chickens that production with high tariffs for livestock and cereals, and require more protein, and therefore more soy in low or zero tariffs for oilseeds and feedstock. This their diets. No area payments were made for grass- policy promoted the intensification of livestock land, while a new premium was paid for every hec- production based on imported feed versus graz- tare of silo maize. This gave a further incentive to ing and domestically grown feed. shift production to intensive systems and to con- Decades ago, the EU became a net exporter of vert grassland to crop growing. meat and dairy products. Since the guaranteed Eleven years later, the last major policy shift ex- domestic prices were higher than world market tended area payments to all types of agricultural prices, exports were possible only through “re- land, including grassland, and thus removed the funds” for exporters, which covered the differ- major disincentives for less-industrial forms of ence between the internal and external prices. livestock rearing. But the trend to convert grass- These subsidies turned out to be a major subject land to cropland continued, partly because of of dispute in international trade. Its exports gave new incentives for growing maize for biogas. Such

Benefitting from protection and subsidies – the European Union’s Top 15 meat companies

Meat production, 1,000 tonnes, 2010/11 GIRA 497 1 Vion Food Group, NL 2 Danish Crown AmbA, DK 7 3 Tönnies, DE 355 4 Bigard, FR 2,040 5 Westfleisch, DE 6 LDC, FR 362 14 7 HKScan, FI 2,525 2 8 Gruppo Verones, IT 13 353 416 9 Cooperl, FR 15 727 10 Groupe Doux, FR beef and veal 11 pigs 470 11 Plukon Food Group, NL 450 1 5 poultry 410 3 12 Terrena, FR 13 Irish Food Processors/ABP, IE sheep 10 9 12 14 4 1,546 Moy Park (Marfrig), UK 6 15 2 Sisters Food Group, UK 941 558

8

487

60 MEAT ATLAS Livestock density in the European Union

Animals for meat production, livestock units, 2011, per hectare arable land 0.50 MUNDI

Finland X

0.67 0.48 Sweden Estonia 1.97 INDE EUROSTAT, 2.20 0.78 stocking density Denmark Eurostat calculation United Kingdom Latvia 5.45 for a livestock unit Over 3 0.41 Ireland 6.44 (examples): 2-3 Lithuania 0.4 calf 4.60 Netherlands 0.94 1.0 dairy cow 1-2 Belgium 1.50 Poland 0.1 sheep 0.5-1 Germany 2.71 0.54 0.5 breeding sow under 0.5 Luxembourg 0.007 broiler Czech Republic 0.48 Slovakia 1.85 1.23 0.57 Austria France Hungary 0.61 3.08 Romania 2.02 Slovenia Portugal 1.08 0.35 Spain 1.46 Bulgaria Italy 0.96 Greece 2.42 4.67 Cyprus Malta

Two more grassland losses have at least been recognized as a Fourth, animal-welfare rules, which are problem in the latest CAP reform, agreed in 2013. clearly defined for many types of pets, should steps: expand Now farmers will receive their full area payments be expanded to cover livestock. Each type of animal welfare; ban only if they conserve existing grassland. In addi- livestock should be managed in a way that is the misuse of tion, EU member states and individual regions are appropriate for that species. The EU should de- antibiotics free to give extra support to sustainable forms of velop laws to govern this: for example, animals animal rearing, such as grazing and organic pro- should be kept in herds or flocks that allow them duction. They can draw this money from another to develop their natural ranking and social rela- EU pot, the European Agricultural Fund for Rural tionships. Animals should be able to move around Development. without hindrance. This would prohibit keeping But what might a EU policy that puts sustaina- animals in stalls without daylight or fresh air. ble animal rearing at the centre of efforts to shape Unrealistic and naïve? These are rules that farming in a socially and ecologically sound way many organic livestock raiser associations have look like? Four steps could convert Europe’s meat followed for years. A template for sustainable ani- policies from being part of the problem to part of mal management has already been in existence the solution. for a long time. First, the European Commission could stop spending money to support the construction of intensive fattening houses. Instead, it should sup- What happens when incentives go wrong port small and medium enterprises in difficult Public storage of overproduced beef and butter under the European Community’s locations that keep their animals in pasture for EU much of the year. Common Agricultural Policy, 1.000 tonnes

Second, the EU should require farmers to pro- 1,400 duce at least half their animal feed on their own butter intervention stock 1,200 farm. That would take the wishes of European con- beef intervention stock sumers seriously. The EU could also ban the use of 1,000 genetically modified fodder. A clear set of rules on 800 feed procurement would eliminate international imbalances in nutrients. Slurry and manure would 600 no longer be transported long distances, but 400 would be used to fertilize the farmer’s own land. 200 Third, the application of antibiotics in feed and watering systems should be prohibited. That 0 19831985 1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 20012003 20052007 2009 2011 2013 would mean animals would be treated individu- ally, based on a veterinary diagnosis.

MEAT ATLAS 61 A UTHORS AND SOURCES FOR DATA AND GRAPHICS

10–11 24–25 THE RISE OF THE GLOBAL MARKET, A SPECIES-POOR PLANET, by Christine Chemnitz by Kathy Jo Wetter p.10: FAO Food Outlook, June 2013. p.11: p.24: FAO, Livestock’s long shadow, 2006. FAOSTAT. OECD FAO agricultural outlook, p.25: ETC Group; Keith O. Fuglie et al., Research 2013-2022. Investments and Market Structure in the Food Processing, Agricultural Input, and Biofuel 12–13 Industries Worldwide, USDA ERS, 2011. CONCENTRATION: ECONOMIES Sarah Beth Moore et al., Heritage breeds: OF SCALE BUT LESS DIVERSITY, Saving chickens and cows from extinction, Medill by Kathy Jo Wetter Reports, June 3, 2011 p.12: FAO Food Outlook, June 2013. p.13: Leatherhead Food Research, ETC Group 26–27 ANTIBIOTICS: BREEDING SUPERBUGS, 14–15 by Kathrin Birkel MAKING PRODUCTS FORM ANIMALS: p.26: EWG, Superbugs invade American THE SLAUGHTER INDUSTRY, supermarkets, April 2013. p.27: EMA, Sales by Marcel Sebastian of veterinary antimicrobial agents in 25 EU/EEA p.14: Riva Caroline Hodges Denny, Between the countries in 2011, Third ESVAC report, 2013. Farm and the Farmer’s Market: Slaughterhouses, BVL, Zoonosen-Monitoring, Berichte zur Regulations, and Alternative Food Networks. Lebensmittelsicherheit, 2010 Auburn, Alabama 2012. p.15: FAOSTAT 28–29 16–17 WHEN THE TANK IS RUNNING DRY, BRIGHT PINK IN THE COLD CABINET, by Manfred Kriener by Annette Jensen p.28-29: A. Y. Hoekstra, M. M. Mekonnen, The p.16: Euromonitor international, Fast food water footprint of humanity, Twente 2011. in China, 2013. Viveat Susan Pinto, Are store p.29: Nippon Ham Annual Report FY 2011. additions by food retail chains sustainable? www.waterfootprint.org Business Standard, Mumbai, Sept. 13, 2013. p.17: Euromonitor international, Datagraphic: 30–31 A Panorama of Packaged Food, Oct. 10, 2013 THE GRAIN IN THE FEED TROUGH, by Stephan Börnecke 18–19 p.30-31: WWF, Meat eats land, 2011. p.31: FREE TRADE VERSUS SAFE FOOD, FAO: Challenges and opportunities for carbon by Shefali Sharm and sequestration in grassland systems, 2010. Karen Hansen-Kuhn p.18: Bertelsmann-Stiftung/ifo Institut, Die 32–33 Transatlantische Handels- und Investitions- THE EMERGENCE OF A LATIN partnerschaft (THIP), 2013. p.19: USDA ERS AMERICAN SOY EMPIRE, by Michael Álvarez Kalverkamp 20–21 p.32-33: USDA ERS: Agriculture in Brazil and THE HIDDEN COST OF STEAK, Argentina, 2001; FAOSTAT database; USDA GAIN: by Reinhild Benning Argentina Oilseeds and Products, 2012; Indec, p.19-20: OECD, Agricultural Policy Monitoring Intercambio Comercial Argentino, Jan. 23, and Evaluation, 2012. OECD database 2013; Soybeans: U.S. Export Trend is up, Share of World Exports is Down, Global AgInvesting, 22–23 Sept. 26, 2013. p.33: Indec database WHY FARMS KILL FISH: BIODIVERSITY LOSS ON LAND AND IN WATER, 34–35 by Tobias Reichert THE CLIMATE COST OF CATTLE, p.22: OECD, Agricultural Policy Monitoring and by Stephan Börnecke Evaluation, 2012. p.23: FAO, Livestock’s long shad- p.34: EWG, Meat Eater’s guide to climate ow, 2006 ; The European Nitrogen Assessment. change and health, 2011. p.35: FAO, Tackling Sources, Effects and Policy Perspectives, 2011 Climate Change through livestock, 2013

62 MEAT ATLAS 36–37 48–49 RANCHERS IN THE RAINFOREST, HALF A BILLION NEW MIDDLE-CLASS by Thomas Fatheuer CONSUMERS FROM RIO TO SHANGHAI, p.36: Millenium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. by Sascha Zastiral p.37: FAO; Instituto Nacional de pesquisas p.48: FAO, Mapping supply and demand for especiais (Inpe); Rhett A. Butler, Brazil: satellite animal-source foods to 2030, 2011. p.49: OECD data suggests rise in Amazon deforestation FAO Agricultural Outlook 2013–2022, 2013. over past year, mongabay.com, Sept. 12, 2013 FAOSTAT database

38–39 50–51 THE GLYPHOSATE IN YOUR BURGER, URBAN LIVESTOCK KEEPING, by Heike Moldenhauer by Wolfgang Bayer and Ann Waters-Bayer p.38: USDA ERS, USGS Pesticide National p.50-51: World Bank/FAO, Urban Agriculture, Synthesis Project. p.39: FAO Statistical Yearbook For Sustainable Poverty Alleviation and Food 2012, www.centerfordoodsafety.org. Red Security, 2008. p.51: pluckandfeather.com, universitaria de ambiente y salud, El consume Urban Livestock in Oakland, 2011 de agrotóxicos en Argentina aumenta continuamente, June 23, 2013 52–53 TURNING SCRUB INTO PROTEIN, 40–41 by Evelyn Mathias A PLETHORA OF POULTRY: CHICKENS p.52: ILRI/Mario Herrero, Food security, TAKE THE LEAD, by Shefali Sharma livelihoods and livestock in the developing p.40: FAO, Global livestock production systems, world, 2010. p.53: FAO, Pastoralism in 2011. p.41: DSW report, 2012; FAO, Food the new millenium, 2001, with additions Outlook 11/2012. FAO, Statistical Yearbook 2013 54–55 42–43 IN SEARCH OF GOOD FOOD, WHERE KEEPING CHICKENS by Ursula Hudson and Carlo Petrini IS WOMEN’S WORK, by Francisco Marí p.54: FAO Statistical yearbook, 2012. p.55: Maike p.42-43: Juliet Karuki et al., Women, Livestock Kayser et al., Analysis of Differences in Meat Ownership and Food Security. In: Bridging Consumption Patterns. International Food and the Gender Gap: Women, Livestock Ownership Agribusiness Management Review, 2013. and Markets in Eastern and Southern Africa, Steven McFadden, Unraveling the CSA Number ILRI 2013. p.43: A. J. Kitalyi, Village chicken Conundrum, thecalloftheland, Jan. 9, 2012 production systems in rural Africa; D. X. Tung, Smallholder poultry production in Vietnam: 56–57 marketing characteristics and strategies; VEGETARIANISM: MANY ROOTS, MANY E. F. Guèye, Gender aspects in family poultry SHOOTS, by Dietmar Bartz management systems in developing countries; p.56: USA, Gallup 2012, Europe: Nationale all FAO 1998–2005 Verzehrstudie II, 2008, with estimates by author, India: Hindu-CNN-IBN State of the Nation 44–45 Survey, 2006. p.57: stats.grok.se IMPORTED CHICKEN WINGS DESTROY WEST AFRICAN BUSINESSES, 58–59 by Francisco Marí WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT: p.44: Indexmundi/USDA database. p.45: INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS, FAO, Livestock sector development for poverty by Ruth Shave and Stanka Becheva reduction, 2012 p.58: viacampesina.org. p.59: FAOSTAT database. FAO, Edible insects, 2013 46–47 DISQUIET IN THE DEVELOPED WORLD, 60–61 by Patrick Holden A GREENER POLICY FOR EUROPE, p.46: WHO/ FAOSTAT databasis; J. Kearney, Food by Tobias Reichert consumption trends and drivers. Philosophical p.60: GIRA, Richard Brown: Structure & Transactions of the Royal Society, Biological dynamics of the European Meat Industry, sciences, 2010. p.47: OECD FAO Agricultural 2010/11–2015, Brussels 2012. p.61: Eurostat/ Outlook 2013–2022, 2013. CME Daily Livestock Index mundi database. EU, The Common report, Dec. 20, 2011, with USDA, Livestock, Agricultural Policy explained, 2004, and Dairy, and Poultry Outlook, Nov. 15, 2013 DairyCo Market Information, Nov. 26, 2013

MEAT ATLAS 63 RES OURCES

NGO reports

Food and Glyphosate, a reason climate for concern, 2013 in the UK, 2010 Dutch soy coalition An analysis of Chinese From forest to fork: research: soy pig production, 2013 On soy, cattle and sugar barometer, 2012 in Brazil, 2010

books How to handle the daily food choices, 2006

Intensive poultry and livestock farming: an early exposure, 1964 On peasant societies’ struggle for autonomy A portrait of the US Ethical issues around and sustainability, 2009 burger industry, meat, 2009 2001 (film 2006)

Cover copyrights © WWF UK (How low can we go). Friends of the Earth (From forest to fork; Introducing glyphosate). Little, Brown and Company (Eating animals). Stuart (Animal machines). Earthscan (New peasantries). Houghton Mifflin Company (Fast food nation). Penguin Press (Omnivore’s dilemma)

websites www.anthra.org www.iatp.org Livestock and sustainable resource use Agriculture, food, globalization Animals and trade policy

www.themeatrix.com Farming http://goodfoodmarch.zs-intern.de Fighting factory farms Good food, good farming campaign www.viacampesina.org www.eurogroupforanimals.org Small scale farming www.arc2020.eu Animal welfare in the EU Better EU rural policies www.familyfarmingcampaign.net www.iucn.org/wisp 2014 International Year of Family www.agrecol.de/?q=en/ Sustainable pastoralism Farming Agriculture and ecology

www.peta.org www.landmatrix.org www.fibl.org/en Ethical treatment of animals land and investment Organic agriculture research

64 MEAT ATLAS Official Reports and an unofficial answer

FAO FAO report: report: FAO report: Livestock’s Livestock Climate change long shadow, in the through Support for 2006 balance, livestock, 2013 smallholders, 2013 UNCTAD’s trade and 2009 Critical analysis: Livestock environment review, 2013 out of balance, 2012

Movies

Jean-Paul Jaud Robert Kenner’s Mark about documentary MacInnis Katharina von Flotow agricultural Lee Fulkerson praising of corporate Morgan Spurlock on urban and Mirjam von Arx on pesticides, a whole food, farming in exploring the fast food farming in keeping biodiversity, 2010 2008 plant-based diet, 2011 the USA, 2008 industry, 2004 Detroit, 2011

Cover and poster copyrights © HLPE (Investing). UNCTAD (Review). FAO (FAO livestock reports). Paul Mundy (Livestock out of balance). Kathbur Pictures, ican films gmbh (Seed warriors). J B Séquence (Nos enfants nous accuseront). Monica Beach (Forks over knives). Magnolia Pictures, Participant Media, River Road Entertainment (Food, inc.). The Con (Super size me). Tree Media Group (Urban roots).

www.pastoralpeoples.org Food www.eatseasonably.co.uk Pastoral peoples and endogenous What to eat and grow livestock www.worldvegfest.org International Vegetarian Union www.foe.co.uk/sustainablediets www.naturaljustice.org Nutrition options Lawyers for communities and the www.organicresearchcentre.com environment Organic principles and best www.sustainablefoodtrust.org practice The challenge to feed the world www.moreandbetter.org Food, agriculture, rural www.theflexitarian.co.uk www.slowfood.com development Flexible vegetarians Pleasure of food www.etcgroup.org www.eating-better.org Impact of new technologies on the Alliance for less meat and www.boell.de/en poorest better food www.foeeurope.org

MEAT ATLAS 65 U3

Heinrich BÖll Foundation Fostering democracy and upholding human rights, taking action to prevent the destruction of the global ecosystem, advancing equality between women and men, securing peace through conflict prevention in crisis zones, and defending the free- dom of individuals against excessive state and eco- nomic power – these are the objectives that drive the ideas and actions of the Heinrich Böll Founda- tion. We maintain close ties to the German Green Party (Alliance 90/The Greens) and as a think tank for green visions and projects, we are part of an in- ternational network encompassing well over 160 partner projects in approximately 60 countries. The Heinrich Böll Foundation works indepen- dently and nurtures a spirit of intellectual open- ness. We maintain a worldwide network with currently 30 international offices. The Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Study Program considers itself a workshop for the future; its activities include providing support to especially talented students and academicians, promoting theoretical work of sociopolitical relevance. We gladly follow Heinrich Böll’s exhortation Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung for citizens to get involved in politics, and we want Schumannstr. 8, 10117 Berlin, Germany, www.boell.de to inspire others to do the same.

Friends of the Earth Europe Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) is the largest grassroots environmental network in Europe, uniting more than 30 national organisations with thousands of local groups. We are the European arm of Friends of the Earth International which unites 74 national member organisations, some 5,000 local activist groups, and over two million supporters around the world. We campaign on today‘s most urgent envi- ronmental and social issues. We challenge the current model of economic and corporate globali- zation, and promote solutions that will help to cre- ate environmentally sustainable and socially just societies. We advocate for an ecological and fair agricul- ture that protects wildlife and natural resources, supports family farms, and reduces our impact on developing countries. We are engaged to protect biodiversity, re- form the European Union‘s agriculture policy, halt the growing of genetically modified crops and prevent the expansion of agrofuels. We play an active role in building a movement for food sovereignty. We work towards environmental, social, eco- nomic and political justice and equal access to re- Friends of the Earth Europe (FoEE) sources and opportunities on the local, national, Rue d’Edimbourg 26, 1050 Brussels, Belgium, www.foeeurope.org regional and international levels.

66 MEAT ATLAS U3 North america In-1.6 large factory farms, pathogens can oceania spread more quickly from one animal to another. asia 0.0 from ECoNoMIES oF SCalE BUT lESSCommonwealth dIVERSITY, page 13 of Independent -2 States Livestock directly or indirectly produce nearly 2013 -0.2 one-third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. 2009 South americafrom THE ClIMaTE CoST6,000–6,500 oF CaTTlE, page 34

beef, veal pig +0.2 Total land outside EU used for soybeans, million hectares poultry sheep, goats 5000 16 Middle East/ 3,600 4000 North africa Paraguay 14 3000 Brazil -0.9 12 2000 argentina

1000 -12.8 +0.1 10 1,000 0 2015 2019 2021 1991 1996 -6.4 2001 2006 2011 Sub-Saharan2016 2021 60 africa 8 1986 0 2 In slaughterhouses, the battle for the lowest prices2001 2005 2010 is being fought on the workers’ backs. from MaKING PRodUCTS FRoM aNIMalS, page 14

On the world market, 25 percent of the beef is in fact now buffalo meat from India. from THE RISE oF THE GloBal MaRKET, page 10